Progress and Opportunity:
AIA 2030 Commitment’s By the Numbers report released
By Vanessa Hostick, AIA and Ashley Mulhall, AIA
The AIA recently released the AIA 2030 Commitment 2021 By the Numbers report in a new way, presenting the data and summaries in a new, engaging web-based format that is easy to digest and navigate. The 2021 report marks more than 10 years of data tracking and analysis in a program that represents more than 56,000 AEC professionals leading the design response to climate change.
We are encouraged by the continued growth of the program, both in firms reporting and in the number of projects achieving the net-zero goal. The 2021 data set reported more than 67 million gross square feet in design and construction today are on track to be net zero energy.
Many projects continue to be challenged by a plateau in results, while an elite list of firms lead the way achieving today’s target of an 80% average pEUI reduction over their entire portfolio, a truly outstanding achievement.
The AIA and 2030 Working Group continue to push for growth, shifting the program focus toward total carbon emissions and creating tools that continue to support architects in a variety of roles and firm sizes.
As operating carbon reductions are achieved, and ideally approach zero —through electrification, on-site renewables, and clean grid power— the embodied carbon of construction materials, transportation and activities become the greater portion of the emissions, and all of it up front. With this in mind, the 2030 Commitment added voluntary reporting of embodied carbon in 2020, with a goal of integrating it into total carbon reporting to the DDx in 2025. 55 firms reported embodied carbon for at least one of their projects in 2020; this number increased to 83 in 2021.
However, this represents only 4% of the projects in the DDx, and the outliers in the range of ECI (embodied carbon intensity) suggest there is a need to both increase the quantity and the quality of embodied carbon reporting. 2030 is grateful to the work of the Carbon Leadership Forum in making the EC3 tool available, the emergence of other tools such as BEAM, and the integration of these into modeling and CAD programs, including CoveTool, Vectorworks and others.
“The progress made by the 2030 Commitment participants is commendable and gives us hope the building sector can pivot away from being such a large carbon emission contributor,” said 2022 AIA President Dan Hart, FAIA. “However, the need for more firms to participate and actively work toward reducing energy use in their projects remains crucial.”
Interested in learning more about the annual report and the AIA 2030 Commitment? Join us for a free webinar, AIA 2030 Commitment’s By the Numbers Report (RY21): A Look into Firms’ Progress Towards Net-Zero, on November 9th and earn 1 LU/HSW! Register now >
Ashley Mulhall, AIA, is with Orcutt|Winslow and is 2030 Working group co-chair; Vanessa Hostick, AIA, is with HOK and is a 2030 Working Group co-chair.