2010 Go Beyond Awards
Submit a nomination
I2SL, in partnership with R&D Magazine, is pleased to announce the third annual Go Beyond Awards. This awards program will honor individuals, organizations, projects, and manufacturers that “go beyond” the status quo to minimize the environmental impacts of laboratory and other high-technology facilities (including, but not limited to, cleanrooms, health care facilities, data centers, and vivaria). Award winners will show their commitment to the goals of Labs21, and to the idea that excellence in sustainability means going beyond the laboratory, beyond the United States, and beyond being “green” when considering building projects, products, and services. The 2010 Go Beyond Awards will recognize these outstanding commitments in the following categories:
As co-sponsor of the Labs21 2010 Annual Conference and Workshops, I2SL will present the Go Beyond Awards at the Labs21 2010 Annual Conference. Award criteria are aligned to support the Labs21 Approach for building sustainable, high-tech facilities. These are the only awards specifically designed to encourage extraordinary leadership, innovation, and achievement of the goals of Labs21. The Go Beyond Awards are open to all related organizations and individuals within and outside the United States and are not limited to Labs21-affiliated individuals and organizations.
Awards Criteria
View printer-friendly criteria and guidelines (170 KB, 4 pp)
Individual Award and Organizational Award: These awards will be presented to an exemplary individual and a commendable organization, including universities, private companies, government entities, or nonprofits, that have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and innovation in creating and maintaining sustainable, high-performance facilities. Individuals could be employed by and organizations could include architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as well as trade associations.
Individuals and organizations will be judged on the following criteria:
- Encourages new ideas that connect sustainability to user satisfaction, safe environments, and healthy conditions for employees and surrounding environments.
- Completion of a laboratory project by the nominee or one of their clients that implements the Labs21 Approach. Nominations may include monitored or calculated savings attributed to the project(s), but are not required to.
- Internal promotional activities that the nominee uses to inform employees, managers, facility staff, clients, and neighboring or affected communities about the Labs21 Approach and its benefits to the organization, the client, and the community. The nomination should describe these activities and their impact.
- External promotional activities that the nominee uses to promote Labs21 and its benefits to the laboratory and high-tech building community and to other individuals and organizations outside the nominee’s firm. Promotional activities could include presentations at conferences, site visits, articles, correspondence, information on company Web sites, and/or meetings where information on Labs21 is shared. The nomination should describe these activities.
- Participation in the Labs21 2008 or 2009 Annual Conferences through attendance and/or sponsorship.
- Promotion of the Labs21 Conference and Workshops to peers, management, and facility staff. Additional credit will be given if the nomination can show that these parties attended a conference or workshop as a result of the nominee’s promotional efforts.
- For organizations, the integration of Labs21 goals into its company business plan, objectives, and services. The nomination should provide examples of how this information is incorporated. For individuals, efforts toward the integration of Labs21 goals into their company’s business plan, objectives, and services should also be described in the nomination.
- Special consideration will be given to organizations that demonstrate the establishment of specific sustainability goals, or individuals that demonstrate the effective advocacy for such goals. Examples of such goals include:
- Zero-Net Energy Research Campus by 2025
- "Platinum" as-designed asset rating using Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC) for all new laboratory buildings
- Best 20 percent in as-operated benchmark energy use intensity for all laboratory buildings
Equipment Manufacturers’ Award: This award will be presented to a manufacturer that significantly contributes to reducing the overall environmental footprint of a laboratory facility through innovative design and engineering of equipment. Nominees must also demonstrate leadership consistent with the goals of this award through the company’s business model.
Equipment manufacturers will be judged on the following criteria:
- Impact the product had on the overall sustainability of the facility in which it was used. Impact may be demonstrated with performance metrics or through an independent assessment of the product.
- Dissemination of information to potential buyers and users that describes the equipment’s contribution to offsetting resources employed in the product’s manufacture, use, and disposal. Such information, to be included in the nomination, should also show the manufacturer’s commitment and leadership to the Labs21 Approach.
- Presentation of the product at the Labs21 2008 or 2009 Annual Conference Technology and Services Fair.
- Integration of Labs21 goals into the manufacturer’s business plan, objectives, and products.
Project Awards: The three types of awards in this category are:
New Construction: Given to a newly built facility—and recognizing the architect, engineer, builder, and project team—that best exemplifies the pursuit of Labs21 goals through the use of Labs21 tools, including components of EPC. New construction projects will be judged on the following criteria:
- Achievement of or expectation to achieve several Labs21 EPC points and all prerequisites. Nominations should describe how nominee met/is meeting EPC in the following areas:
- Sustainable sites
- Water efficiency
- Energy and atmosphere
- Materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
- Innovation and design process
- Submission of facility data to the Labs21 Benchmarking Tool.
- Commitment to prepare within one year an in-depth case study of the project for inclusion in I2SL’s E-Library.
Renovation or Adaptive Reuse: Given to a renovated or adaptive-reuse facility—and recognizing the architect, engineer, builder, and project team—that best exemplifies the pursuit of Labs21 goals through the use of Labs21 tools, including EPC. Renovation or adaptive-reuse projects will be judged on the following criteria:
- Achievement of or expectation to achieve several Labs21 EPC points and all prerequisites. Nominations should describe how the nominee met/is meeting the EPC in the following areas:
- Sustainable sites
- Water efficiency
- Energy and atmosphere
- Materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
- Innovation and design process
- Submission of facility data to the Labs21 Benchmarking Tool.
- Commitment to prepare within one year an in-depth case study of the project for inclusion in I2SL’s E-Library.
Innovative Technology or Systems: Given to recognize the inventive use of a specific technology or system that has improved the environmental performance of a laboratory or other high-tech facility. Innovative Technology or Systems submissions will be judged on the following criteria:
- Use of:
- Onsite renewable energy technologies, or
- Passive design strategies to support renewable technologies, or
- Water management strategies that may include rain water collection and storage, green roofs, gray water systems, irrigation, etc.
- Aggressive and innovative energy efficiency.
- A level of performance consistent with the Labs21 EPC.
- Development of a laboratory “user’s handbook” for facility management and staff to assure the continued, successful operation of new technologies and systems.
Eligibility
The 2010 Go Beyond Awards will recognize achievements accomplished and projects completed from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2009. I2SL reserves the right to only present awards within each category if a nomination shows merit.
Although the use of the Labs21 Approach and tools will be favored in the judging of nominations, it is the concept behind these resources—building sustainable, high-performance, low-energy buildings—not the specific use of them, that will be judged for each nomination. Therefore, affiliation with the Labs21 Conference, Workshops, or program is not required to submit a nomination or be considered for an award. Applications will be accepted for nominees within the United States and abroad.
How to Apply
To nominate an individual, organization, or project for the 2010 Go Beyond Awards, please complete the online application.
Applications are due April 30, 2010. Award decisions will be made in summer 2010.
Awards will be presented at the Labs21 2010 Annual Conference, which will be held September 28 through 30 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Previous Award Winners
Learn who won the 2009 Go Beyond Awards.
Learn who won the 2008 Go Beyond Awards.