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Labs21
Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21®) is a voluntary partnership program dedicated to improving the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories. Sponsored by EPA's Facilities Management and Services Division (FMSD) within the Office of Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), Labs21 aims to improve laboratory energy and water efficiency, encourage the use of renewable energy sources, and promote environmental stewardship within the laboratory community. The guiding principle of the Labs21 program is that improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of a laboratory requires examining the entire facility from a “whole building” perspective, rather than focusing on a specific component.
Why Laboratories?
On a square-foot basis, laboratories often consume four to six times as much energy as typical office buildings. FMSD, which is responsible for managing all EPA facilities, many of which are laboratories, and FEMP, which provides energy management guidance to the entire federal government, collaborated to create a program that would specifically address these energy-intensive facilities.
Since the Labs21 program was sanctioned by EPA in 1999, the program has not only helped FMSD and FEMP address their missions by providing solutions to creating and maintaining more sustainable laboratory facilities, but it has also provided a forum in which laboratory professionals from public, private, and academic industries all over the world come together to share information on how to create more sustainable laboratory facilities.
Conferences
The Labs21 Annual Conferences and Workshops are cosponsored by the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) 
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The Labs21 2012 Annual Conference will be held October 2 to 4, 2012, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. During this three-day international event, laboratory professionals can participate in dozens of technical sessions and symposia, plus evening tours of the region's sustainable laboratory and high-tech facilities, pre-conference training workshops, and the Technology and Services Fair, which highlights some of the most innovative products and services in the industry. Visit the I2SL website to learn how to be part of this one-of-a-kind event.
The Labs21 2011 Annual Conference was held September 20 to 22, 2011, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn more about this successful event and other past Labs21 Annual Conferences .
On November 2, 2007, the Labs21 program received the Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in energy and water efficiency, use of new technologies and renewable energy sources, innovative strategies, and alternative financing.
More Information
Labs21 helps find solutions to making laboratories more sustainable, thus helping EPA, DOE, and other federal agencies save energy and water and reduce emissions in order to meet the requirements set forth in Executive Order (EO) 13514, EO 13423, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Learn how Labs21 can help you by visiting the Labs21 website for details on the annual conference, tools for laboratory design and operation, and information on how to join the Labs21 Network.