Jackson keeping Maine "green" while leading the search for cures

Date: April 19, 2008

Bar Harbor, Maine - Mainers know The Jackson Laboratory as a nonprofit research institution that is leading the search for tomorrow's cures. They can also be proud of the fact that the Laboratory -- one of the state's largest employers -- is also in the vanguard of institutional environmental initiatives.

Ongoing efforts to reduce energy use earned The Jackson Laboratory the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership Award in 2006 for energy conservation leadership. According to Jackson Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chuck Hewett, Ph.D., “The Laboratory makes it a practice to choose the most environmentally friendly materials, services and utilities available, which nowadays also often equates to lower operational costs.”

Hewett noted that even the Laboratory's landscaping is designed to use the minimum amount of water and chemical inputs. “I was recently pleased to learn that the Laboratory's new information booth, which travels to scientific meetings and trade shows, is constructed primarily from recycled styrofoam packing peanuts,” he added.

Here are just a few of the many “green” Jackson Laboratory initiatives: 

  • Jackson's lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems comply with the highest industry standards, known as LEED.
  • Since 1995, water use has been reduced by 20 percent.
  • Each year the institution recycles more than 60 tons of paper and cardboard, more than 3,000 pounds of glass, and more than 1,800 tons of wood shavings used as mouse bedding, as well as batteries, printer cartridges and computer equipment.
  • Carpool and busing programs take an estimated 206 cars off the road to and from Mount Desert Island every weekday.
  • Outdoor lighting is designed to keep Maine's night skies dark for stargazers.

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine, with a facility in Sacramento, California.  Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community. The Laboratory is the world's source for more than 3,500 strains of genetically defined mice, is home of the mouse genome database and is an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education.

Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, joyce.peterson@jax.org, 207-288-6058

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Office of Public Information
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org