A key component of our institutional values is Stewardship, including minimizing the environmental footprint of JAX activities. Here are just some of the green initiatives and policies that JAX has implemented.
JAX-wide Initiatives
All JAX locations engage employees in sustainability through site-specific Green Teams that focus on local programs, education and outreach.
Energy Efficiency
- Process exhaust heat recovery systems recapture thermal energy which would otherwise be discharged into the atmosphere.
- Lighting and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems comply with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
- Buildings completed since 2000 were specifically designed to LEED principals, achieving highly energy-efficient operation and lowest overall life-cycle operating cost.
- An Infrared Thermography Program improves the insulation characteristics of Laboratory buildings by locating areas where insulation properties have been compromised.
- Variable-frequency drives are implemented as standard design on all new HVAC related projects saving energy by allowing fans and pumps to turn at the minimum required speed.
- Premium-efficiency motors are specified on all new construction and have been retrofitted to existing HVAC applications which exceed the minimum efficiency mandated by codes and standards.
- A Steam System Maintenance Program minimizes heat lost in the distribution and use of steam through regular inspection and repair of steam traps, insulation, and conversion equipment.
- Lighting systems use high-efficiency fluorescent and LED bulbs tied to motion-detectors and timers, ensuring that lights are on only when needed.
- Where used, oil-fired boilers have been equipped with precision controls for maximum fuel efficiency.
- Chillers use non-HCFC (non-ozone depleting) refrigerant and are equipped with energy-efficient variable frequency drives, providing chilled water at the highest efficiency available.
- 100% outside air economizers are used on all HVAC systems, taking advantage of “free cooling” when ambient temperatures allow.
- Instantaneous water heaters in newer campus buildings generate hot water only when needed, reducing the energy required to keep standby water hot.
- Instituted heating and cooling set-point policy for office, laboratory, and public spaces to reduce heating and cooling costs.
Reducing, Reusing, Recycling
- Nitrile gloves from all animal-care facilities are recycled through Kimberly-Clark's RightCycle Program. Gloves are pelletized and used to make a variety of new items from ark benches to Frisbees. This program has substantially reduced our waste stream — in 2018, more than 12,900 pounds of gloves were diverted from the landfill from the Sacramento facility alone.
- More than 85 tons of paper and cardboard is recycled each year.
- 1,500 tons of wood shavings used as mouse bedding are recycled and converted to landscaping compost each year.
- A majority of the documents produced for external distribution (annual reports, magazines, brochures, etc.) are printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified, mainly recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by local printing companies, many of which use sustainable solar and wind power sources.
- Battery and ink cartridge recycling depositories are readily available.
- All non-functioning or outdated computers are recycled.
- Internal mail is sent via reusable envelopes.
- Campus dining facilities have implemented extensive recycling and composting initiatives.
Environmentally Sound Landscaping and Maintenance
- Organic fertilizer and pest and disease control products, and natural alternative ice melt are used.
- All leaves and grass clippings are composted and used for plantings.
- Planting beds are mulched, reducing the need for water and fertilizer.
- Drainage systems have been improved, reducing erosion and sediment runoff into surrounding streams.
- The quantity of lawn areas is being reduced and native plantings are being introduced, such as wildflowers and groundcovers. This reduces maintenance, use of grounds equipment, fuel and emissions, and providing a more attractive and natural appearance.
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards are used to select “green” renewable building materials (stone, brick, aluminum, steel, copper, cork and wood).
- Custodial services has migrated to filter- and ionizing methods for floor scrubbing, window cleaning and dusting, eliminating all chemical use for these processes. Where cleaning products are used, harsh chemical-based products have been replaced with green products. Refillable containers and concentrates are used wherever possible to reduce plastic use from ready-to-use products.
- Trash bags are made of at least 30% post-consumer waste.
- “Eco Mops” are composed of 30% post-consumer waste, 67% post-industrial waste and free from post-recycling dyes.
- All battery-operated soap and hand sanitizer dispensers not use lithium batteries, which have a longer life and are more readily recycled.
- Carefully managed zero-sort receptacles keep recyclable materials and returnable bottles out of general trash streams.
Reducing Travel Emissions
- The JAXFit wellness program encourages employees who live nearby to walk or ride a bicycle to work. Bike racks and on-site shower facilities are provided.
- Travel miles are minimized by teleconferencing and videoconferencing other JAX sites and with collaborators around the world.
Keeping Our Communities Beautiful
- Paths, benches and outdoor seating areas encourage employees to take lunchtime and other breaks outdoors.
Bar Harbor Initiatives
Awards
- JAX received the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership award for energy conservation leadership in 2007.
- JAX received the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Environmental Leader award in 2011.
Energy Efficiency
- A highly energy efficient biomass burner provides process steam and heating to over 700,000 square feet of the Bar Harbor campus, and was partially funded through a $1 million competitive grant provided the Department of Energy and administered through the Efficiency Maine Trust. Over 11,000 tons/year of Forest Stewardship Council certified Maine wood products are used to displace 1.2M gal/year of #2 fuel oil consumption, resulting in 13,000 tons/year of CO2 and 29 tons of SOx emissions removed from the Laboratory’s emissions profile.
- A back-pressure steam turbine generates 2.2M kW-hrs of electricity via use of renewable wood resources to generate steam. This project was partially funded through a competitive grant from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an East Coast carbon cap-and-trade program, and administered through the Efficiency Maine Trust.
- Expanded use of Aircuity demand ventilation control systems in laboratories reduces ventilation rates in research environments by 40-60% annually.
Reducing, Reusing, Recycling
- Since 1995, the JAX Water Reduction Program has reduced water use by 20 percent.
- We recycle or sell over 4000 wooden pallets per year.
Reducing Travel Emissions
- A carpool and busing program has been in place for many years reducing the number of vehicles traveling to and from Bar Harbor and Ellsworth by over 200 trips per day. Together with Downeast Transportation, JAX provides a weekday commuter bus service to and from Bangor, Cherryfield, Franklin and Ellsworth for more than 180 riders.
- About 60 employees who carpool and enroll with the state’s GoMaine program reducing their commuting costs and reducing automotive emissions.
- To promote walking, the Laboratory installed a sidewalk and partnered with Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia to facilitate extension of the “Red Path Trail”on Schooner Head Road, allowing a continuous path from the village of Bar Harbor to Sand Beach and beyond.
Keeping Our Communities Beautiful
- In the 1920s, wealthy summer residents of Mount Desert Island promoted the establishment of a national park and scientific research laboratories, including the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory, to preserve the island’s natural environment and prevent the incursion of the logging industry.
- In keeping with the Dark Sky initiative, shielded lighting at the Laboratory protects the night skies.
- The Bar Harbor campus is designed to blend into its natural surroundings, and is located on the officially designated Scenic Byway.JAX teams take part each year in the Friends of Acadia Earth Day Cleanup.
Farmington
Upon the opening of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX-GM) in Farmington, CT in 2014, the building was granted a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rating. We continue to uphold our efforts in sustainability through the following initiatives:
Employee Education
The JAX Green Team educates employees about green initiatives through flyers, quarterly newsletters and events. Communications are focused on how employees can be green both at JAX and at home.
Recycling & Composting Efforts
- Plastic has been replaced with aluminum and glass products in all vending machines.
- Food scraps from the cafeteria's kitchen are composted, and employees will soon be able to compost their own food scraps through a collaboration with a local vendor, Blue Earth Compost.
Community-Support Agriculture (CSA)
- Employees have the option to participate in a local community-supported agriculture (CSA) program with Sub Edge Farm.