Leslie Weaver and George Hunt on Lean and Sustainability in Pharma Construction

Published on: April 28, 2026

George Hunt, Leslie Weaver, Zachary Zubulake

Conference | INTERPHEX

Leslie Weaver and George Hunt, IPS, discuss early sustainability and lean alignment in pharma construction that reduce costs, absorb disruptions, and keep projects on schedule.

George Hunt, corporate lean director at IPS, and Leslie Weaver, sustainability project manager at IPS, discuss the importance of early planning, strategic alignment, and lean methodology in Part 1 of a two-part interview with PharmTech at INTERPHEX 2026.

Both Hunt and Weaver emphasize that sustainability considerations must be introduced at the very start of a project. As Weaver explains, "The later you wait to bring sustainability into the mix, the more your window of opportunity closes." Early decisions, such as site location, building orientation, and long-lead equipment selection, are critical moments that, if missed, can lead to costly redesigns and delayed procurement down the line.

From a lean perspective, Hunt argues that early alignment goes beyond sustainability alone. It encompasses business goals, budget, schedule, and how the project team will function together. "Having that early alignment really does a great job and sets the groundwork to be able to operate efficiently together," Hunt notes. In lean terminology, these shared objectives are called conditions to satisfaction, serving as a North Star that keeps all stakeholders moving in the same direction throughout the project lifecycle.

The pair also address the unique challenges of working within pharmaceutical environments, where regulatory requirements can complicate sustainability goals. Their approach is to first understand the constraints and the reasoning behind them, then find solutions that honor both compliance and environmental objectives.

Hunt closes with a concrete example of a schedule-driven pharmaceutical project where lean principles were applied from design through commissioning and validation. While an equipment issue outside the team's control prevented an early finish, the lean approach allowed the team to absorb that disruption without pushing the overall schedule. As Hunt explains, "Lean helps us take a look at that, operate differently, and be able to absorb it."