Sustainability Annual Report 2024
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is a Department of Energy Office of Science research laboratory operated by the University of California. Sustainability performance highlights from the last year include:
Net-zero progress: The Lab is making progress against its Net-Zero Vision and Roadmap to fully decarbonize across all reported greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2045. Two conceptual designs for retrofit building electrification have been recently completed, with a goal to move forward with one detailed design and construction project in the next year.
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Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: Total reported GHG emissions as of October 2023 are 41% below 2015 levels and 29% below 2019 levels.
Energy savings: The Lab maintains a portfolio of energy and water savings that currently generates an annual utility bill savings of over $1.3 million, driven primarily by a dedicated ongoing commissioning (OCx) team.
Electrified buildings: The Lab is continuing a tradition of all-electric space and water heating in its new buildings. A new electrified laboratory building is nearing completion and a new electrified multipurpose building, including an all-electric cafeteria, is now under construction.
Low-waste generation: The Lab is maintaining a level below 0.5 pounds of municipal solid waste generation per person-day.
Deeper water savings: The Lab has achieved a reduction in water consumption of 46% compared to a UC fiscal year 2007–08 baseline. The per capita water consumption reduction is 55% from UC fiscal year 2007–08 baseline.
Explore Berkeley Lab’s sustainability data at sbldata.lbl.gov.
Stories
Turning Agricultural Trash to Treasure and Benefiting Underserved Communities
Funding has been secured for BioCircular Valley to help Berkeley Lab and partners improve the process for transforming the diverse agricultural waste from California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley into sustainable bioproducts and biofuels. “This project is designed to benefit a region that has massive potential but has so far been economically left behind,” said Blake Simmons, director of Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division.
EMISSIONS
*Interim goals for 2030, 2035 and 2040 to be developed through fossil-free planning that is underway at each location
**90% direct reduction of total emissions from 2019 levels with residual emissions negated by carbon removal
Berkeley Lab greenhouse gas emissions for federal fiscal year 2023 were 29% lower than in fiscal year 2019. Some reductions are attributable to significant improvements in energy efficiency. The energy consumption per square foot of the Lab’s general building stock, excluding process loads, was 29% below fiscal year 2015 levels. Natural gas efficiency improvements were deeper: The Lab’s sitewide natural gas consumption per square foot was 37% below fiscal year 2015 levels. Scope 3 emissions have been increasing but were still just over half of pre-pandemic levels.
ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI)
The UC EUI metric for Berkeley Lab increased slightly in calendar year 2023, within a context of a multi-year reduction in energy consumption per square foot.
Green building
A new 74,000-square-foot laboratory building, called BioEPIC, will complete construction around the end of calendar year 2024. This laboratory is targeting LEED Gold and will use only electricity for space and water heating. Construction of a new 47,000-square-foot cafeteria and conference center is also underway. This facility, which includes a commercial kitchen, is also targeting LEED Gold and will be all-electric.
1 Platinum and 6 Gold
Total number of LEED certifications
Transportation
of all vehicles and 100% of sedans and minivans acquired in 2024 were electric (zero-emission), plug-in hybrid or clean transportation fuel
EV charging ports
Berkeley Lab has 29 employee electric vehicle (EV) charging locations. The Lab’s employee EV charging program continued to grow, with a membership of over 400 as of June 2024. During federal fiscal year 2023, 100% of all sedan and minivan acquisitions were plug-in hybrid vehicles.
WATER
*Based on fiscal year 2007-08
**2025 goal is a 36% reduction from baseline.
Per capita water consumption for UC fiscal year 2023–24 was 55% lower than in UC fiscal year 2007–08. Berkeley Lab’s annual water consumption was 6.7 million gallons lower than in the previous reporting year, mainly due to reductions in high-performance computing loads, which consume water for cooling purposes. Water consumption is 19.4 gallons per square foot for the 2023–24 UC fiscal year.
ZERO WASTE – GENERATION
*These numbers might include a small amount of incineration that is being phased out.
**In 2021, waste generation per weighted campus user spiked due to pandemic-related closures as base-level operations continued but the number of users on campus decreased.
Berkeley Lab’s waste generation for UC fiscal year 2023–24 was approximately 0.3 pounds per person-day, slightly lower than the previous year. Organic waste generation remained low due to the temporary absence of an on-site cafeteria.
ZERO WASTE – DIVERsion
* Waste incineration was counted as diversion prior to July 2022.
Berkeley Lab had a diversion rate of 66% excluding construction and demolition debris and a rate of 79% including construction and demolition. One large source of diverted material is scrap metal, the generation of which decreased by 27% compared to last year. Diversion of organic waste remains low due to the temporary absence of an on-site cafeteria.
Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out
Complete Phase-out*
- Plastic bags
- Foodware in UC dining facilities
- Foodware in third-party dining facilities
- Beverage bottles in UC dining facilities
Partial Phase-out
- N/A
Starting Soon
- Beverage bottles in vending machines
*Complete phase-out of single-use plastics may include exemptions where reasonable alternatives to plastic do not exist.
Berkeley Lab currently has only one food service vendor, which brings food trucks to the site while a new building for the cafeteria is being constructed. This vendor primarily uses fiber based, locally compostable food service items in accordance with Berkeley Lab’s internal policy and with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy. Berkeley Lab is planning for the new cafeteria to operate as a zero-waste facility prioritizing reusable food service items.
Awards
The Lab received an Innovative Approach to Sustainability award from the Department of Energy for quantifying water consumption in laboratory spaces.
A full list of awards is featured on the UC Office of the President’s website.