Committee on the Environment

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ALBION DISTRICT LIBRARY BY PERKINS + WILL IS A 2018 COTE TOP TEN RECIPIENT. IMAGE: DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Committee on the Environment (COTE®) is an AIA Knowledge Community working for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We believe that design excellence is the foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. Our work promotes design strategies that empower all AIA members to realize the best social and environmental outcomes with the clients and the communities they serve.

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To learn about the Framework for Design Excellence (formerly the COTE Top Ten Measures), click here.

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Starting a local COTE or sustainability group and need some guidance? Check out the AIA COTE Network Resources here.

A big thank you to our 2024 sponsors: 
Founding sponsors: Building Green
Premier sponsors: Sherwin-Williams
Sustaining sponsors: GAF Roofing, Milliken, Andersen Windows,
BlueScope Buildings
Green sponsors: EPIC Metals
Allied sponsors: TLC Engineering, Sierra Pacific Windows

We are still committed to action

By Heather G. Holdridge Assoc. AIA posted 07-20-2017 04:49 PM

  
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vonderauvisuals (Flickr) | License: goo.gl/WkS2Rl

By Heather Holdridge, Assoc. AIA and Greg Mella, FAIA, Co-Chairs, AIA 2030 Working Group


With the announcement last month of the impending US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank the participating signatories of the 2030 Commitment. Like the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Commitment was created specifically to respond to scientific projections on greenhouse gas reductions needed to prevent 2-degree Celsius climate change—meaning that signing on to and actively participating in the 2030 Commitment is a direct way to support the climate accord’s goals.


Climate change is one of the biggest threats of the 21st century endangering national security, human health, food supply, natural ecosystems, and global economies. That is why we stand with the AIA and so many others around the world in believing the overwhelming evidence that human actions are changing our climate. The built environment accounts for the majority of human-caused carbon emissions globally. As stewards of this planet, architects need to do our part in supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement and reducing global carbon emissions to protect our world for future generations.


heather_greg.jpgTherefore, it is critical to push to minimize the environmental impact of our portfolio. The AIA 2030 Commitment, and those who actively participate in it, serve as a set of living case studies of how our profession can drive progress during this time when private-sector leadership in combating climate change matters more than ever.


With the release of our 2016 “By the Numbers” report earlier this month, it’s clear that the efforts of firms in the 2030 Commitment are making a difference. In most ways, we continue to take steps toward our targets—the average predicted energy use intensity (pEUI) percent savings reached 42 percent in 2016, a continuation of the positive trend of recent years, while 331 individual projects and the portfolios of six firms met or exceeded the 70 percent reduction target. But the report also reveals that work still remains to meet the urgency of climate change with our 2030 target of carbon-neutral design.


Whether you develop a Sustainability Action Plan for practice, integrate early energy modeling to make more informed design decisions, track the predicted energy usage of projects through reporting in the Design Data Exchange (DDx), encourage new firms to join, or sign on to a public declaration—such as “We Are Still In”—of your firm’s continued support for the Paris Agreement —these actions are just some of the ways to engage with the 2030 Commitment and build on your firm’s dedication to actively drive toward solutions that support the goals of the Paris Agreement.


If you are not a signatory, please encourage your firm to sign the Commitment. If you are a signatory firm but have not measured and reported the performance of your firm’s portfolio, we encourage you to engage with the program by reporting your portfolio.


Now more than ever we need to take a clear stand and support the goals of the Paris Agreement by signing and participating in the AIA 2030 Commitment. We reaffirm our commitment and strive to meet the targets that have been set forth in the Commitment with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality for all our work.

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