Urgent and Sustained

by Marcy Marro | October 1, 2019 12:00 am

While transportation, industry and agriculture are significant contributors to the problem, buildings account for approximately 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. As I shared in recent columns, these emissions come from both energy use in the building (operational carbon emissions), as well as the carbon dioxide associated with the extraction, manufacturing, transport and installation of building materials (embodied carbon emissions). Architects, engineers, contractors, material manufacturers, developers and building owners are all responsible for decisions that influence both types of emissions from buildings, with architects having a prime role, setting and guiding the design direction of each project.

Architecture 2030 Challenge

Recognizing this, Ed Mazria, FAIA, launched the Architecture 2030 Challenge[1] in 2006 to inspire voluntary climate action commitments from firms in the global architecture and building community. The challenge established progressively more stringent performance targets for operational greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings and major renovations. The target is currently at 70 percent, increasing to 80 percent in 2020 and 90 percent in 2025, with the expectation that all buildings will be carbon-neutral in 2030. In 2010, the American Institute of Architects[2] (AIA) created the 2030 Commitment[3] in support of the 2030 Challenge, encouraging architecture firms to sign a commitment to adopt the targets and do annual reporting on the performance of their portfolio of projects.

The AIA’s recently published 2018 summary of 2030 Commitment results (2030 By the Numbers[4]) contains both encouraging and disappointing news. A total of 252 firms reported in the Design Data Exchange in 2018, up from 212 reporting firms in 2017. These projects represented 3 billion square feet of construction in 92 countries, with a total of 17.7 million metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions, and accounting for $3.3 billion in operational savings. Additionally, 79 new firms joined the commitment in 2018.

Unfortunately, the firms reporting in 2018 represent only 45 percent of active signatories (549 firms), and only 16 of these firms hit the 70 percent reduction target for their entire project portfolio during the reporting period. The average reduction was only 46 percent for all reporting firms, well short of the target. Notably, small firms (one to nine people) averaged the highest reduction (60 percent) in their reported portfolio performance.

There are approximately 17,500 architecture firms owned by AIA members, and roughly 3,000 additional firms not associated with the AIA. Sadly, this means that fewer than 3 percent of all firms in the U.S. are 2030 Commitment signatories, and barely over 1 percent of all firms are tracking and reporting the GHG emissions associated with their projects. We have a long way to go.

New Commitment

Thanks to the initiative of Betsy del Monte, FAIA, and 50 other AIA members who introduced a resolution[5] at the AIA’s Conference on Architecture 2019, the AIA membership overwhelmingly committed to urgent and sustained action on climate change. That in turn led to an AIA Board of Directors resolution in September that calls for revisions to AIA public policies and position statements, and advocates that the Institute engage its full membership, clients, lawmakers and communities in a multiyear education, practice, and advocacy strategy to address the climate crisis. The beginning of the resolution reads as follows:

“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that commencing in 2019 and continuing until zero-net-carbon practice is the accepted standard of its members, the AIA prioritized and support urgent climate action as a health, safety, and welfare issue, to exponentially accelerate the ‘decarbonization’ of buildings, the building sector, and the built environment.”

The AIA will focus its efforts on supporting the design of sustainable, resilient and equitable communities. The Institute will also continue to encourage participation in the 2030 Commitment, along with developing new programs and resources to support architects in fighting climate change. The resolution also makes climate action a part of the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Putting It Into Practice

Commit – If your firm has not yet signed on to the 2030 Commitment, make this the year you do so. No matter when you signed the commitment, redouble your efforts now to design low-carbon buildings, and to track and report your firm’s progress. Not only is there an ethical imperative to do this, but it also directly benefits your clients, giving them resilient buildings with reduced operating costs.

Quantify – The AIA Design Excellence Framework[6] (formerly the COTE Top Ten Toolkit) is a free resource to help guide design decisions and quantify performance of sustainable design strategies, including the 2030 Commitment. Download it and use it. Additionally, energy modeling should become a regular part of the design process for all projects (not just those seeking LEED). The 2030 by the Numbers report notes that the projects reported in 2018 that used energy modeling had 25 percent higher performance on average compared to those that didn’t.

Consider – While the 2030 Commitment focuses on reducing operational carbon emissions, remember that embodied carbon is at least as important. The soon-to-be-released Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) will be a useful tool for designers and contractors seeking to design, specify and procure building materials with the lowest possible embodied carbon. Make embodied carbon reduction part of your design and specification considerations.

It is time to step up! Architects and other building professionals must follow the lead of the AIA and current 2030 signatories and work earnestly toward universal deployment of carbon-neutral building design. Use the many resources available, make your best effort on each project, be transparent about the results, and share and learn from each other. This is the new standard of care for architects and we all must work together to uphold it, doing our part to avert the climate crisis and build a positive future.

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Alan Scott, FAIA, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, WELL AP, CEM, is an architect with over 30 years of experience in sustainable building design. He is a senior associate with WSP in Portland, Ore. To learn more, visit http://www.wsp.com/en-US/services/built-ecology[7] and follow Scott on Twitter @alanscott_faia.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/urgent-and-sustained/

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