On behalf AIA’s two climate signatory programs, the AIA 2030 Commitment and AIA A&D Materials Pledge, we’re excited to share this past year’s progress in the zero-carbon and materials realm – with reflections on how far we’ve come and much more to do!
This year’s 2030 By the Numbers report has signs of hope within it, including a record breaking 490 firms reporting data, over 7,000 projects reporting Embodied Carbon Intensity (ECI), and increases in reported all-electric buildings and projects with renewable energy. But the data also shows there is clearly more to do as predicted Energy use Intensity (pEUI) and the GSF of energy modeled projects has plateaued at roughly 50% for the past 5 years. We are progressing as an industry towards net zero emissions as we move towards quantifying and building low-carbon buildings, but there is, as always, more to do.
This past September, the Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization (aka ECHO) Project released its White Paper and Schema, a spreadsheet designed to streamline data reporting, reduce inconsistencies, and support seamless data exchange across various LCA tools, platforms, and databases. AIA was represented on ECHO by A+D Materials Pledge Co-Chair Lona Rerick, AIA, and 2030 Commitment Co-Chair David Arkin, AIA, Climate Leadership Kathleen Lane, AIA and Melissa Morancy, Assoc. AIA, one of the primary authors.
The Materials Pledge, originating in 2018, now has almost 300 signatory firms dedicated to holistic material selection. This past summer, the Materials Pledge program introduced its annual reporting framework to track progress towards the Pledge commitments and opened its inaugural round of signatory reporting. In just a few short months, we experienced active engagement in the reporting webinars, regional discussion groups, and national peer networks as firms organized to track their work.
In RY23, 92 signatories reported the required firm-level metrics as well as 136 projects with twenty-one of the twenty-two product level information. For all current and future signatories, we hope that this first cycle of reporting provides insight and resources to begin collecting information and tracking project data for next year. Be on the lookout next month for our first ever Materials By the Numbers report, that will provide a look inside the reported data and show how the industry is doing and where we need to improve.
The decarbonization and materials journey are notably different – but both necessary in mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis and creating a zero-carbon, healthy, resilient, and equitable built environment. Both the 2030 Commitment and Materials Pledge are excited to continue to grow and engage their signatory communities, with next year’s (RY24) reporting cycles overlapping.
2030 Commitment: January-March | Deadline: March 31st
Materials Pledge: February-May | Deadline: May 31st
For Materials Pledge reporting, the questions will not differ greatly from the inaugural reporting period; however, there will be limited updates for clarity and ease of reporting. In advance of the next reporting period, we will update our FAQ and resource documents to reflect the most current guidance for reporting. We will also host more Open Office Hours and look forward to utilizing the Materials Pledge Community Hub for online discussions.
Ahead of reporting season, please make sure that your firm’s primary point of contact is up to date by updating in the DDx (2030) or emailing materials@aia.org. We look forward to putting our commitments into action and working towards the continuous improvement of our energy performance and material selections!
David Arkin, AIA & Jesse Walton, AIA – 2030 Working Group co-chairs
Tanya Eagle, Assoc. AIA & Maria Papiez, AIA – Materials Pledge Working Group co-chairs