The 26-acre ORNL Arboretum was accredited in 2019 and contains 52 of the 62 tree species identified at ORNL. Image credit: ORNL
ORNL is not only the largest national laboratory within DOE’s Office of Science, with 5.8 million square feet of facility space. It’s also one of the country’s oldest national laboratories, with some buildings dating to the 1940s.
As such, ORNL’s campus presents a unique opportunity to model campus sustainability by using energy and water efficiently and minimizing the generation of waste and other forms of pollution. ORNL’s Carbon-Free Campus plan will integrate carbon capture, energy storage, and emission-free energy technologies to achieve net zero emissions within a decade.
The lab’s sustainability efforts are coordinated by Sustainable ORNL, a 12-year effort to ensure that the lab itself is as environmentally responsible as possible. The program encompasses a dozen specific areas — known as roadmaps — such as energy efficiency, a sustainable vehicle fleet, recycling and intelligent building analytics.
“There are multiple areas where we can be sustainable,” said ORNL energy and efficiency sustainability engineer Amy Albaugh, “from getting Energy Star–rated equipment to recycling to managing land, energy and water. What Sustainable ORNL does is to bring together all of those areas.”
These efforts led to three significant awards in 2020, focused on water savings, the lab’s arboretum and personal accomplishments.
Saving water. ORNL’s Facilities Management Division saved more than 56 million gallons of water a year in 2018 and 2019 by replacing the source of cooling water to two major research buildings. This effort earned the lab a 2020 DOE Sustainability Award for Outstanding Sustainability Program/Project.
Laboratory equipment in Buildings 4508 and 6000 had connected to ORNL’s potable water system using once-through cooling, where the water passes through the equipment once before being sent to the lab’s storm sewer. The two-year project hooked the equipment into a recirculating chilled water system, thereby reducing water use in the two buildings by 71 percent.
The project added to ongoing Sustainable ORNL efforts pursued by ORNL’s Mechanical Utilities to reduce water consumption by repairing leaks and replacing old water distribution lines.
ORNL Arboretum. For years, ORNL has focused on landscaping with native plants and trees, taking advantage of East Tennessee’s native beauty and minimizing the use of water and fertilizer in landscaping.
The ORNL Arboretum is an extension of that effort. The 26-acre arboretum, located in the lab’s west campus area, contains 52 of the 62 tree species identified at ORNL. It was accredited in 2019 through the International ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and won a 2020 DOE Strategic Partnerships Award for Sustainability.
For ORNL plant ecologist Jamie Herold, the arboretum serves a dual role: educating staff and lab visitors about the region’s rich environment and giving them inspiration to incorporate natural plants and trees into their own landscaping projects.
“This is a showcase model for the rest of the lab, but also it highlights what we've done here,” she said.
Sustainability Champion. DOE named Albaugh a Sustainability Champion for her contributions to Sustainable ORNL. As leader of the program’s Intelligent Building Analytics roadmap, which uses data collection and analysis to promote efficient use of energy and water, she led the implementation of DOE’s 50001 Ready energy management program, using the program’s Navigator application.
ORNL was only the third federal location to receive the 50001 certification.
“Amy’s knowledge, leadership and passion for sustainability have driven many Sustainable ORNL accomplishments,” said Mark Goins, ORNL’s complex facility manager. “She possesses all the attributes of a true Sustainability Champion, and ORNL is privileged to have an early-career engineer with her capabilities.”
For Albaugh, the lab’s sustainability programs, and Sustainable ORNL in particular, are an effective way to take advantage of the talented people at ORNL to accomplish something at home.
“It brings people together in a common group where we can discuss and continue to promote and see where we can be of assistance across multiple areas,” she said, “and just basically promote sustainability throughout ORNL.”
