The Sheward Partnership is excited to announce that Pfizer’s new 400,000-square-foot, three-story Modular Aseptic Processing (MAP) Facility in Portage, Michigan, has achieved LEED Gold certification under the LEED v4 Building Design & Construction: Core & Shell rating system. As a global pharmaceutical leader committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting environmental and human health, Pfizer designed the facility to deliver significant energy, water, and embodied carbon savings. Despite the challenges of a specialty manufacturing facility with high process loads and strict global manufacturing requirements, the project team used energy modeling, daylight analysis, and whole-building life cycle assessments to guide the design. Located on Pfizer’s largest global manufacturing campus, the facility will add approximately 450 jobs in Kalamazoo County, strengthen American manufacturing, and support the growth of the life sciences industry in southwest Michigan.
The MAP Facility is a key investment in advancing sterile manufacturing technology, meeting growing product demand, and strengthening Pfizer’s position within its global network. The first floor houses pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, the second floor contains mechanical and office space, and the basement provides storage and support areas. While the building structure and envelope were completed in full, only half of the interior was built out, with the remaining space reserved for future expansion. This approach allowed Pfizer to pursue LEED Core & Shell certification for an owner-occupied facility. By pursuing LEED certification, Pfizer reinforced its commitment to creating a healthier workplace, better serving patients worldwide, and advancing its broader sustainability goals.
Here are some of the ways the project team achieved LEED Gold certification:
Land Use & Site
Pfizer chose to build this facility on an existing parking lot in a pre-existing Pfizer campus. This strategy reduces the amount of natural resources used in new construction and associated waste quantities. Responsible development in existing previously disturbed areas avoids inappropriate development of greenfields and sensitive habitats.
Biodiversity was also an important consideration. The rural campus balances mature native trees and decorative landscaping beds while maintaining minimum distance of plants from sensitive production areas to prevent intrusion of pests and pollen. In order to maximize LEED points, the site features 31% open space and 25% native plants. A large native plant meadow was strategically located to provide wildlife habitat and promote biodiversity but safely located away from critical building operations. The meadow was carefully integrated into the existing landscape and is the first of its kind at Pfizer’s Portage campus!
Water Efficiency
The team tackled low-hanging fruit of outdoor and indoor water use reduction. Irrigation water use is reduced by 86% on-site via native plants and only irrigating plant beds via drip irrigation. Low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce potable water use by 35% in restrooms. A majority of building potable water use is in process systems, resulting over 17,000 gallons of water each year compared to irrigation and restroom water use estimated at 290 and 340 gallons each year respectively. The team specified a water-efficient autoclave with heat exchanger, resulting in an overall process water use reduction of 12%. Rainwater harvesting was investigated in detail but team was concerned about introducing bacteria into sensitive production areas so it was not pursued. Energy and water submeters are installed throughout the building to verify ongoing performance and compare against corporate baselines.
Energy Efficiency
Pfizer required LEED certification at project onset, so the team began energy analysis early in schematic design. Pfizer established energy reduction goals in alignment with their commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The team worked closely with Pfizer staff to identify Energy Use Intensity (EUI) targets and compare predicted LEED building energy performance to campus and global baselines. Energy modeling was used as a tool early in design to inform the design process. Team developed innovative energy conservation measures that maintain the high quality environmental conditions necessary for pharmaceutical manufacturing, while using less energy. The LEED energy model indicated 60% of annual building energy use was process equipment energy, modeled identically in Baseline and Proposed models, which can hinder significant savings.
In total, the approved LEED energy model anticipated 15% energy cost savings, which is superior performance for a high process load specialty manufacturing facility. Contributing energy efficiency strategies include:
- Energy recovery maximized where feasible due to high volume of once through air,
- Energy recovery heat exchangers on hydronic systems;
- Process waste water heat exchanger to pre-heat hot water;
- High efficiency lighting throughout the 24/7/365 facility;
- State-of-the-art ventilation practices to reduce air exchanges as seen in using isolators in lieu of RABS;
- NEMA Premium Efficiency Motors.
The team developed the approach of creating a “cupcake” energy model where they modeled one small part of the building to test various energy conservation measures and “refine the recipe” before moving on and scaling up to model the entire massive facility. To go a step beyond fundamental commissioning, the Pfizer MAP Facility participates in enhanced and monitoring-based commissioning to be able to measure and evaluate the performance of energy- and water-consuming systems. On-site solar was thoroughly researched and considered not but not pursued. Pfizer purchases renewable energy across their portfolio and allocated a portion of renewable energy credits to this project, resulting in 42% off-site renewable energy.
Materials & Resources
The team developed a whole building life cycle assessment to evaluate and reduce embodied carbon. The team used a Tally plug-in with architectural and structural Revit models to test various strategies. The Pfizer MAP Facility achieved 17% embodied carbon reduction through alternative cementitious materials (ACMs) in concrete mix designs and lighter façade materials like terra cotta in lieu of traditional stone and masonry. During construction, the team adjusted slag cement amounts as needed to expedite work and accommodate cold temperatures. The model was updated throughout construction to confirm embodied carbon goals were met. Typically, team utilized 40% slag cement to replace Portland Cement, which exceeds typical southwestern Michigan area mix designs of 30% slag or 25% fly ash. Also, the team utilized Type 1L Portland Cement, which replaces 10% of Portland Cement with 10% limestone resulting in 5% embodied carbon savings. Tally was unable to factor Type 1L Portland Cement at the time, so the team post-processed whole building life cycle assessment results.
Interior building materials were carefully selected with optimized chemical content and low- to no-emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The team investigated non-PVC flooring, wall, and ceiling options, where feasible, but in many instances, the durability of PVC was required for clean room standards. The team contacted multiple PVC product manufacturers to encourage VOC emission testing per California Department of Public Health (CDPH) standards. This advocacy sets the stage for future pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to pursue LEED certification.
Indoor Environmental Quality
The team created a 3D computer simulation daylight model to evaluate beneficial daylight and uncomfortable glare. Early in schematic design, the team determined that second floor office areas would be best located on north façade for beneficial indirect daylight and lack of glare. The daylight model specifically supported programming and planning decision making to create a high performance work environment for Pfizer employees. Regularly occupied areas were located along the building perimeter to take advantage of daylight and views. This very large and deep floor plate building achieved the LEED v4 daylight credit with 40% regularly occupied areas meeting minimum daylight requirements. The first floor was excluded from daylight calculations because some pharmaceutical materials are sensitive to daylight.
This unique project pushed the boundaries of what’s feasible for sustainable design in pharmaceutical manufacturing. These advancements are a testament to the integrated project team successfully working together to deliver high performance results. Achieving LEED Gold certification exemplifies Pfizer’s commitment to public health and reinforces responsible design, construction, and operations have long range positive impacts.
Project Team
Owner: Pfizer
Architecture: Integrated Project Services
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineering: Integrated Project Services
Structural Engineering: Mainstay Engineering Group
Commissioning Agent: Pfizer/Grumman Butkus Associates/ Intertek
Landscape Architect: Hurley & Stewart
Interior Designer: Meyer Design
LEED & Sustainability Consultant: The Sheward Partnership, LLC
Construction Manager: Gilbane/The Austin Company
