International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043848205
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
7038415484
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,590,674
Expenses
$1,616,581
Assets
$1,018,770
Liabilities
$197,820

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GORDON SHARP (PRESIDENT)
  • ALISON FARMER (SECREATARY (THRU DEC)/VICE PRESIDENT (FROM DEC))
  • KEVIN BRETTMAN (VICE PRESIDENT (THRU DEC))
  • KATHLEEN BRADY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • GORDON SHARP (PRESIDENT)
  • BRAD COCHRAN (SECRETARY (FROM DEC))
  • SEAN CONVERY (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of international institute for sustainable laboratories (i2sl) to engage all stakeholders in advancing the safety and sustainability of laboratories and other high-tech facilities globally.

What it reported doing in 2025

I2sl's major source of income is an annual conference, which took place in dallas and was attended by 436 laboratory owners, managers, designers, engineers, and builders. Revenue earned from conference attendees, sponsors, and exhibits helped fund i2sl's other functions. As in previous years, the conference provided significant educational opportunities and professional credits, both at the conference and through its conference and virtual activities such as webinars and a virtual conference. I2sl encouraged its many chapters around the country to offer educational events, which they did both virtually and in person. I2sl also raised significant funds and made significant progress for its labs2zero program to educate and assist lab building owners and operators with energy efficiency, emissions reduction, benchmarking, and scoring their lab buildings compared to peer facilities. I2sl also launched a new effort called the international fume hood challenge.i2sl was awarded a subcontract late in 2021 by the national renewable energy laboratory (nrel) to support i2sl promoting an online smart labs toolkit. Nrel has significantly decreased the scope and budget of this project, which provides $4,000 annually for hosting this toolkit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 58.2%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.6%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.9% of revenue deployed · 58.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $940K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $965K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.