Committee on the Environment

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Reflections on A'23 COTE Open Forum

  
The sold-out COTE Open Forum session at A’23 brought together almost 300 participants to discuss Climate Action & Climate Justice, Policy & Advocacy, the Inflation Reduction Act, Resilience & Adaptation, the 2030 Commitment, and the Framework for Design Excellence. Lindsey Baker, CEO of the International Living Future Institute, provided brief remarks to set the stage for rich conversation among participants. She forecasted that the transformation of the built environment will no longer take place building by building. Rigorous design and execution have proven the case at the unit scale; widespread adoption at the policy level is now necessary. She urged participants to go beyond work within their practice, to support holistic change across the industry. To do this, she guided, “We must act like a movement: listen and align, advocate, train others, [and] show up for the community.” During our breakout sessions, we heard from COTE volunteers carrying out this work in their regions, building new coalitions in South Carolina, supporting firms in adopting the 2030 Commitment in Indiana, educating others about urban ecology in New York, and continually improving the incorporation of sustainability requirements into design awards in California. Understanding how we most effectively act like a movement carries its own complexity, and it is a question with which the COTE Network continually grapples. We hope you can join us for our next quarterly call on Tuesday, August 1st @ 2:00 PM ET for case studies on policy and advocacy at the state and local level. We will hold Office Hours for open discussion from 2:00 - 2:30 PM ET. Please email cote@aia.org if you would like to join the call and do not already have a calendar invitation. 
Bunny Tucker, AIA, CPHD
COTE Network Co-Chair
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