Rethinking Labs: Managing Existing Facilities for a Sustainable Future

As higher education institutions face increasing pressure to advance research excellence and improve the student experience while simultaneously addressing financial constraints and environmental goals, responsible space stewardship has emerged as a critical facilities planning strategy. Laboratory environments, as the most resource-intensive spaces on campus, play a particularly important role in discussions of future-ready space.

Intentional, data-driven management of existing lab space can improve utilization and reduce operational costs without defaulting to new construction. Through space analysis, stakeholder engagement, and on-site assessments, institutions can identify misaligned space and implement optimization practices and green lab operational programs, such as lab cleanouts, equipment sharing, cold storage management, and green chemistry, to free up valuable space while improving safety, functionality, and environmental performance.

Responsible lab space stewardship enables campuses to rethink how they manage laboratory space and evolve it to meet future demands. Case studies from the University of North Florida and the University of Iowa will highlight tools and practices that facilities leaders can deploy to transform existing lab space into lean, adaptive research environments that drive innovation, align with institutional missions, reduce environmental impact, improve resilience, and prepare students and staff to be conscientious stewards of research space.

Learning objectives:

1. Demonstrate how responsible laboratory space stewardship supports research productivity, safety, and sustainability outcomes.
2. Apply green lab practices—such as equipment sharing, cold storage management, and green chemistry—to improve daily lab operations without compromising research goals.
3. Analyze space utilization data and the lab assessment process to identify underused or misaligned laboratory space.
4. Evaluate the role of facilities, EHS professionals, and faculty/researcher teams in fostering a culture of stewardship that prepares students to manage research spaces responsibly and improve efficiency and safety.