Achieving net zero in laboratories is one of the major challenges facing the design community when planning for new scientific spaces, requiring a fundamental shift in our approach to design. Flad's sustainable design expert Dirk von Below will lead a presentation showing a path to net zero that every project can follow.

This presentation will review opportunities to achieve net zero and address economic challenges, requiring a full understanding of the metrics that drive the design process and a holistic view of the environmental impact of a new building.

With reference to the developing I²SL's Labs2Zero initiative, Dirk will discuss weighing all the considered metrics that are part of this new program. How should we score our progress as a combination of many facets of improving the environmental footprint? Is low carbon energy use more important than embodied carbon? And how will this new program fit into the evolving sustainability programs?

Dirk von Below, AIA, LEED AP BD+CWith more than 33 years of delivering highly complex science facilities to private and institutional clients, he offers an informed perspective on balancing state-of-the-art design with environmental considerations.