AIA 2030 Peer-to-Peer Network

In the beginning of June, the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design was held in Washington, D.C. for the first time since 2012. The city welcomed over 13,000 attendees, including many who are passionate about ensuring that the A&D profession moves holistically towards creating a more sustainable built environment. Conference programming included sessions on decarbonization, sustainability and firm culture, data visualization, embodied carbon, and tours of net zero projects in the DMV area. AIA24 was also the place where ahead of the Day 1 Keynote on the Main Stage, Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor, announced the first part of the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building. Since 2010, the AIA 2030 Commitment and the DDx have been tracking signatory firms (now over 1,300) progress towards net zero carbon emissions. The program was excited to gather the 2030 community at AIA24, with events including our third annual 2030 Open Forum, Conference sessions, COTE Open Forum roundtables, and the Climate Action Networking Reception. Below are boots-on-the-ground snippets from our 2030 Working Group members who were able to attend, lead, and continue important conversations about the industry’s progress to net zero. 

Visualize Net Zero Energy, 2030 Data and Tableau, Jesse Walton, AIA

For over a decade, Mahlum has diligently provided the AIA 2030 Commitment with pEUI, operational and embodied carbon data. Throughout this journey, we've explored various methods of visual storytelling to effectively communicate our efforts internally and externally. At my AIA’24 session “Visualize Net Zero Energy, 2030 Data and Tableau,” I introduced Mahlum's latest visualization tool, the 'Low Carbon Design Dashboard' . This exploratory dashboard allows any AIA 2030 Commitment signatory firm to visualize their pEUI, Operational Carbon, and Embodied Carbon metrics, leveraging DDx data exports. Additionally, I shared DDx updates to the Research Tab and Project Page, as well as insights into the evolution of data visualization, along with lessons learned, and current educational resources for those in the AIA 2030 Commitment community.

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, Keith Hempel, FAIA

The architecture profession is beginning to understand the vast role that it plays in climate change. We see this manifest in the number of commitments that firms sign on to, the number of sustainability experts that they hire and the number of analytical tools and software they deploy. Yet even the most committed firms are still finding themselves falling well short of their aspirations. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast focused on the role that firm culture plays in achieving and advancing sustainable and high-performance design. Culture can be a headwind stymieing meaningful progress or a propellant, enabling and empowering staff at all levels of an organization.