By: Daniel Overbey, AIA, and Jacob Werner, AIA
As Co-Chairs of The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) 2030 Commitment Working Group, we are excited to highlight the growing success of the Commitment, as evidenced by our most recent reporting. We are looking ahead to 2026 with excitement and hope, while still acknowledging that there is still much work to be done if we are to realize the Commitment’s full potential. Many of the technologies required for deep carbon reduction are just coming to maturity, and the design tools for robust analysis and optimization are continually improving. We look forward to working with the hundreds of firms that lead by example, as 2030 Signatories, to evolve the Commitment, the Design Data Exchange (DDx), and our many other design tools to be ever more powerful, practical, and useful for low-carbon and sustainable design.
2024: A BANNER YEAR FOR THE 2030 COMMITMENT
As we shared in our annual report, 2030 By The Numbers, the last reporting year set a new high-water mark for AIA’s core climate action program:
- 4 billion gross square feet of building space was reported, an unprecedented figure.
- A 56% reduction in pEUI, an all-time high for the program.
- 30% growth in the number of projects reporting fuel sources.
- 630 net zero projects were reported, almost doubling the previous reporting year.
- A threefold increase in the number of projects reported with renewable energy.
- An all-time high number of projects and gross square footage reported with embodied carbon data.
2025: THE REPORTING CYCLE IS UNDERWAY – WHAT IS NEW IN THE DDx?
This past year, the Working Group has implemented several substantive updates to the Design Data Exchange (DDx), including:
Added tools for The Committee on the Environment (COTE®) Top Ten Award, namely a web version of the famous “Super Spreadsheet”. The DDx has expanded to feature new buttons and a new tab for the “COTE® Top Ten” award and its associated data. Please note: this section of the DDx is not required for reporting projects to the 2030 Commitment. Signatories should use the “2030 Commitment” tab to view only their firm’s 2030 projects data.
Expanded embodied carbon reporting and Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization (ECHO) Project alignment.Reporting of project embodied carbon data remains an optional category for the 2030 Commitment. As the industry becomes more familiar with embodied carbon modeling, analysis, benchmarking, and optimization, reporting continues to increase in popularity. In 2025, building on AIA’s participation in the ECHO Project, the Working Group enhanced the DDX to align its embodied carbon data fields with the ECHO schema. Additionally, the “Embodied Carbon Only” project setup has been discontinued and integrated directly into the “Whole Building” project workflow.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) integration. The post-occupancy section of a project’s dashboard now features an API connection to ESPM. If you have administrative access to a building’s ESPM account, you can request to connect to AIA’s ESPM account and import your yearly measured performance data.
A list of the updates made to the DDx in 2025 can be found on the DDx help page. You can also watch a recording of our webinar on 2025 DDx updates on YouTube.
2026: WHAT’S NEXT?
Recognizing that the year 2030 is not too far off now, the 2030 Working Group, in conjunction with Architecture 2030, is beginning discussions of what a possible refresh of the Commitment Program could look like. This will be a multi-year effort, but we will begin visioning in 2026. To help us prepare for future, more substantial changes to the program, we will be focusing more on DDx maintenance and improving the user interface and experience.
Now that the embodied carbon reporting section allows for more detailed data reporting, we will not be making significant field changes going forward. We will test and verify functions and calculations across the DDx and ensure that the platform is working as designed. We will be adding missing zip codes and a new climate zone, and expanding fields that are reportable via API connection, including the new embodied carbon table. We recognize that the DDx has a few bugs, and 2026 will be the year we focus on smoothing out and resolving them.
NEED HELP REPORTING? PLEASE CONNECT WITH US
We would be remiss if we did not extend our heartfelt appreciation to our AIA 2030 Commitment Signatories. We would not have a climate action program without you. We know reporting to the DDx takes real time and money. As such, the 2030 Working Group is here to help. Please take advantage of the following opportunities and resources:
- Open Office Hours. The full RY25 Open Office Hour (OOH) schedule and recordings can be found here.
The upcoming schedule is:
Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 2-2:45pm ET: A Guide to Bulk Import Register here.
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3-3:45 pm ET: How to submit your portfolio Register here.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 2-3pm ET: Last-minute questions Register here.
- DDx Help Pages can be found here and contain a wealth of information on how to navigate the platform and input projects.
- Join us. Participate in the 2030 Peer-to-Peer Network and leverage the wisdom of the 2030 Commitment community.
Please ensure that you submit your data to the DDx by the reporting deadline of March 31, 2026.
If our team can help in any way, please reach out to us at 2030commitment@aia.org