Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1511466
24 BioPharm International ® Manufacturing and Facilities eBook 2023 www.biopharminternational.com Facilities: Sustainability greatly from rising utility costs. A socially sustainable company includes design impacts that improve the well- being of corporations most valuable assets—its people. Improving social functions allows employees to live better and thrive. A strong governance company sees increased profits through reduced operating expenses, increased worker attraction, and productivity, and is likely to become more attractive to investors. Accord i ng to t he World Ba n k Group, i n 2022, cou nt r ies represent i ng 23% of t he g loba l GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions have Carbon Taxes or Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) implemented or scheduled for implementation (1). The United States does not federally have ETS under consideration, but as we build the facilities for the next 30, 40, 50 years, you can be further protected for future carbon tax by designing a zero-carbon facility today. Creating a zero-carbon facility B i o P h a r m : C a n a z e r o - c a r b o n b i o p h a r m a manufacturing facility be achieved? Wegner (CRB): Yes! Let's first differentiate types of 'carbon', defined by Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Scope 1 emissions are onsite direct operational carbon, which includes facility emissions from onsite combustion (e.g., natural gas), and fugitive emissions a ssociated w it h lea k s of GHG compou nd s (e.g., refrigerants, fire suppression). Scope 2 emissions are onsite indirect operational carbon, which includes purchased utilities (e.g., electricity, or district heating/cooling). Scope 3 emissions are offsite indirect emissions that are not owned by the company but are part of its value chain (e.g., construction materials, business travel, employee commuting, leased assets). This is the most difficult scope to identify, and it is often excluded from current reporting standards. Note, we generally recognize a reduction of 95% or greater as 'zero carbon' in accordance with SBTi guidelines. For these reasons, most companies are currently focused on eliminating Scope 1 and 2 operational carbon emissions. While there are several avenues, the most straightforward and economical approach is generally through: energy efficiency, electrification, and consuming clean electricity. My team at CRB has successfully implemented this design approach on several biopharma facilities that are currently in operation, under construction, and in the design phase. BioPharm: How ca n a zero-ca rbon faci lit y be successful? Wegner (CRB): The most important success factor is early alignment and planning. If you know where you're heading, you're much more likely to reach your destination. We encourage an energy + sustainability charrette during the early project planning phase. An energy + sustainability charrette is a collaborative planning process in which all project stakeholders gather to identify, discuss, and document project-specific energy and sustainability goals. From here the team can map appropriate solutions to achieve such goals. BioPharm: Is the cost to run a zero-carbon facility more than a standard facility? Wegner (CRB): Not necessa r i ly. T he greatest challenge with zero-carbon facilities is heating systems. To minimize the impacts of heating, we promote an order-based 4-Rs strategy—reduce, recover, reverse- cycle heat pumps and resistance heating—for zero- carbon facilities: • Reduction is all about eliminating waste. • Recover y is about repurposing waste heat for another use. • Reverse-cycle heat pumps are much more efficient than traditional fossil fuels or electric resistance heating systems. • Resistance heating is the least efficient and should be the last resort (ideally avoiding it altogether). Once you have eliminated onsite fossil fuels by fully electrifying a facility, you can further increase site resiliency by providing onsite renewables, largely by means of solar + storage. Solar photovoltaics (PV) have come a long way over the past 10 years and are now largely more cost competitive than traditional fossil- based power generation. Coupling solar photovoltaics with an onsite battery energy storage system (BESS) allow you to store excess power when utility rates are least expensive, and discharge when supply drops off and utility rates are most expensive. When you combine these steps together, you can significantly decrease a zero-carbon facilities' operating costs. BioPharm: What are some lessons learned companies should know before starting a project? Wegner (CRB): An early energy + sustainability cha r ret te a nd cha r ter i ng pha se may t a ke a few weeks, but I would not suggest that's additional time but, rather, part of what is traditionally considered feasibility or (pre)schematic design. By creating a focused analysis of 'go/no-go' features, it avoids the 'have you considered' questions that inherently come up later in design processes that often distract from reaching the finish line. Some lessons learned with onsite renewables may include utility requirements, adequate electrical room sizes, general arrangement of major equipment, with equipment and clearance coordination, AHJ [authority having jurisdictions] permitting, insurance provider review and approval, and final utility permission to operation (PTO). B i o Ph a rm : W h at a r e s ome c h a l le n ge s w it h sustainable design projects?