NEB Facility
NEB’s modern 140,000 square foot research and production facility is LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design). This is a distinction given based on a suite of environmentally focused standards that include
site sustainability, water efficiency, energy
conservation and atmospheric protection, choice
of building materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation and building
design. In 2009, NEB also received a sustainable design award from the Boston Society of Architects for the
design of its state-of-the-art laboratory facility.
Examples of how the building was designed to optimize energy usage:
- A lighting control system that shuts off lighting
when building is unoccupied
- A heat reclaim system, in which the heat that
is exhausted from the building is recycled to help heating incoming fresh air
- Chillers that use Free Cooling when outside
temperature is below 50°F, which allows chillers to shut off and still keep the building cool
- High efficiency motors and lights, with motor
drives that reduce the speed of motors when not in use
Examples of environmentally sound choices of building materials and resources:
- 100% of the total roofing is energy star compliant
- 7% of the building is composed of recycled
material
- Low VOC paints, carpets and adhesives are used
inside the facility
- 30% of the construction materials used in the
new facility originated within 500 miles of the site
Examples of conservation through building design at NEB:
- NEB is a CFC-free building
- NEB has reduced its water usage by 50%, even
though the new laboratory is 3X the square footage
- The NEB facility was designed to conserve the
property’s trees and land, and exceeds open space requirements by 54%
- 78% of construction waste was diverted from
landfill
Most prominent in our conservation efforts is our state-of-the-art Solar Aquatics
System®. This modular system treats the campus’ wastewater making it clean enough for reuse or
for ground water recharge. This wastewater treatment plant has the ability to treat up to 48,000 gallons per
day.
Business Processes
Over 30 years ago, NEB was a pioneer in establishing a shipping box recycling program. This program is also operated
by our subsidiaries in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. In 1987, NEB established its first freezer program
consolidating product shipments. All of our publications, including manuals, datacards and marketing materials are
printed on recycled paper. In addition, the NEB Catalog and Technical Reference is printed on 30% post-consumer recovered
fiber. Use of this material reduces the need for trees (including intentional paper crops), decreases energy consumption
and saves landfill space. The NEB mail list is carefully cleansed to remove addresses that are out-of-date to help
reduce the amount of materials being printed. The use of e-invoices was also employed to minimize paper usage. NEB
has an extensive in-house recycling program for many products, including paper, plastics, expanded polystyrene, glass,
aluminum, batteries and electronics. In addition, NEB’s
Green Committee, comprised of NEB employees, continually looks for new ways
to minimize the company’s impact on the environment. For more information, please contact green@neb.com.
Examples of processes that have been adapted at NEB:
- The NEB food service purchases local produce
whenever possible. Composting in the NEB cafe diverts as much as 75% of the cafe waste away from landfills.
- The janitorial staff uses environmentally friendly
cleaning reagents
- In the warm-weather months, employees can take
advantage of a farm stand brought to the NEB campus, offering organically grown produce
- Employees are able to purchase reusable market
bags produced from recycled plastic
- NEB has partnered with MassRIDES to help employees
search for alternative ways to get to work
- Premier parking for employees who carpool,
as well as safe storage for bicycles are available
- Employees can also take advantage of a “community
service day”, which allows them the opportunity to volunteer for the organization of their choice
without having to use personal time
- Outside speakers are often invited to educate
employees on conservation methods
Global Conservation and Awareness
For over three decades, the NEB Catalog & Technical Reference has been a resource for scientists around
the world. Each edition of the catalog contains minireviews that address various environmental topics. These articles
raise awareness of the impact we have on the environment and our need to maintain stewardship of the earth. Click
the links on the left side navigation list to read a selection of past minireviews. In addition, with the release
of each catalog, NEB offers support to non-profit organizations that
promote environmental awareness.
Past recipients have included:
- Energy Access Foundation, an organization that
increases access to clean and renewable energy through rural energy enterprises
- Aqua Para La Vida, an organization that works
in rural Nicaragua to build safe drinking water and sanitation systems
- Trees, Water, People, a group dedicated to
helping communities protect, conserve and manage natural resources
- IDEA WILD, a group dedicated to helping preserve
the earth’s biodiversity
- Union of Concerned Scientists, a group dedicated
to improving the environment
- Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI),
a group dedicated to advancing the science of marine conservation biology
- Sustainable Ecosystems Institute (SEI), a group
that uses science-based, cooperative solutions to maintain natural ecosystems and the human communities
that depend on them
Locally, NEB is also participating with the Food Project (thefoodproject.org)
to foster a community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds to work together to build a sustainable food system
on the NEB campus.
Non-Profit Organizations
As part of our commitment to raising environmental awareness, NEB has played a role in the establishment of two non-profit
organizations, the New England Biolabs Foundation and the Ocean Genome Legacy Foundation.
The New England Biolabs Foundation (NEBF), a private foundation established in 1982, supports environmental awareness,
education, health and the arts. For more information, please visit the NEBF website at www.nebf.org.
The Ocean Genome Legacy Foundation (OGLF) is a not-for-profit private research foundation whose goal is to promote conservation
of marine genomic diversity by creating a permanent library of genomic DNA from as many marine species as possible. For
more information, please visit the OGLF website at www.oglf.org.
NEB also supports local environmental initiative through our corporate donations program, which contributes to non-profit
organizations.
For a timeline of sustainability practices at NEB, click here.
