By: Lindsey Falasca, AIA (Incoming COTE Chair, 2027)
Across the country, AIA COTE state and local chapters are driving meaningful climate action through advocacy, public education, and community-centered engagement, advancing resilience and sustainability in the built environment.
In celebration of Earth Day, this spotlight highlights a range of initiatives designed to inspire and empower COTE groups nationwide to take action and lead climate solutions in their own communities.
Advocacy
COTE groups are influencing policy at the local and state levels. Their efforts include advancing building performance standards, expanding decarbonization initiatives, and supporting the adoption of more ambitious energy codes.
AIA Baltimore COTE + AIA Maryland
The state of Maryland adopted the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, landmark legislation requiring a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2031 and net-zero emissions by 2045, with action across large buildings as well as the power and transportation sectors. AIA Baltimore COTE and AIA Maryland testified in support of the bill, advocating for statewide energy benchmarking and stronger building performance standards, two policies that set clear targets for reducing operational energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at the building level. Since its passage, both chapters have remained actively engaged, supporting implementation, and advocating for strengthening the program over time.
AIA New York COTE
Last year, with a new mayoral administration on the horizon, AIA New York COTE convened cross-sector sustainable design leaders to craft a forward-looking decarbonization policy agenda that supports the city’s climate goals. The resulting publication, Building Decarbonization Action Plan for New York City, provides a comprehensive roadmap addressing carbon across the full building lifecycle, with strategies focused on embodied carbon, operational carbon, and circularity. Recommendations span governance, legislation, code updates, and agency guidance. The report has reached a broad audience, ranking among AIA New York’s top five most viewed publications and generating over 20,000 LinkedIn impressions. The plan now serves as the foundation for the chapter’s ongoing advocacy efforts as they engage with new leadership.
AIA Minnesota COTE
Recognizing that meaningful change in the built environment depends on effective policy and up-to-date codes, AIA Minnesota COTE partnered with the AIA Minnesota Government Affairs Committee to advance targeted statewide initiatives. Through legislative engagement and expert testimony, the coalition helped secure adoption of a three-year commercial energy code update cycle aligned with evolving ASHRAE standards. They also coordinated advocacy efforts with partners, including Fresh Energy, Phius Alliance MN, Passive House Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Sustainable Building Research, to align professional and research perspectives. Their work broadened policymakers’ understanding of sustainability to include both energy efficiency and renewable energy, while using the Framework for Design Excellence to ground policy in long-term environmental and social impact.
Community Engagement
COTE groups are extending their impact beyond the profession by working directly with communities, dedicating time and resources to meaningful, on-the-ground impact. These efforts focus on building relationships, sharing knowledge, and supporting resilience through place-based, community-driven initiatives.
AIA Honolulu COTE
AIA Honolulu COTE’s Design for Risk and Resiliency (DfRR) initiative is supporting the development of community resilience hubs across O‘ahu through participation in the Resilience Hub Learning Community. These hubs, often schools, churches, and community centers, serve as trusted spaces for everyday services, like food security and health programs, while also functioning as critical resources during emergencies. Through partnerships with organizations such as CERENE and the Hawai‘i Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program, AIA Honolulu COTE is integrating design expertise into community-led resilience efforts. This work strengthens collaboration among architects, emergency preparedness leaders, and community organizations, helping ensure resilience hubs are thoughtfully planned, safely designed, and equipped to support both daily life and disaster response in island communities facing increasing climate risks. Additionally, these resilience hubs and the communities that sustain them serve as catalysts for transformative change, fostering stronger, more connected, and self-reliant communities.
AIA Southeast COTE Collaborative
Supported by the AIA Southeast COTE Collaborative and the nonprofit MountainTrue, this hands-on volunteer event brought together architects, designers, and community members for a riverbank cleanup in Buncombe County, North Carolina, an area heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene. Participants engaged directly in restoration efforts while learning how riparian health, pollution mitigation, and flood resilience can be supported by site-specific design interventions to enable resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities. The event demonstrated how stewardship and design thinking can work together to support environmental recovery and community well-being.
AIA Detroit COTE
AIA Detroit COTE, in partnership with other local sustainability groups, hosted a screening of Women of Carbon, highlighting trailblazing female leaders advancing decarbonization in the built environment. The event combined film, discussion, and networking, creating space to explore both the technical and human dimensions of climate leadership in an engaging and thought-provoking way.
Education
COTE groups are creating spaces for knowledge-sharing and professional growth, helping practitioners stay at the forefront of climate-responsive design. These programs foster dialogue, build networks, and accelerate the adoption of sustainable strategies in practice.
AIA San Francisco COTE
ClimateTech ‘25, a full-day in-person symposium hosted by AIA San Francisco COTE, brought together design professionals, sustainability experts, and technology providers to explore tools and strategies for integrating climate design into practice. Sessions covered low-carbon design tools, evolving codes and certifications, firm leadership strategies, and the growing importance of circularity and reuse. Live demonstrations and case studies allowed for deeper engagement, while the extended in-person format fostered stronger connections and learning outcomes.
COTE Buffalo / Western New York
Tipping the Scales on Mass Timber brought together leading experts to explore the opportunities and challenges of designing with mass timber. The panel highlighted technical, environmental, and experiential benefits of the material. The program’s lasting impact, remaining a highly requested and frequently discussed topic, underscores the value of bringing diverse expertise to local audiences.
AIA Houston COTE
Gulf Coast Green, now in its 19th year, is AIA Houston COTE’s flagship annual program. The event highlights regional sustainability strategies, with a focus on local resilience opportunities in a climate-vulnerable region. By showcasing local case studies and convening practitioners across disciplines, the conference provides actionable insights tailored to the Gulf Coast’s unique environmental challenges.
Hands-On Impact
Through experiential programs and real-world demonstrations, COTE groups are making climate concepts tangible. These initiatives translate building science and sustainability principles into lived experiences, bridging education, community impact, and design practice.
AIA Cincinnati COTE
At Cincinnati’s Homearama®, AIA Cincinnati COTE brought the Passive House Network’s Ice Box Challenge to life. Two boxes, one built to code and one to passive house standards, were filled with 1,000 pounds of ice. After 14 days, only the high-performance box retained ice. Interactive exhibits, educational programming, and a family-friendly scavenger hunt helped translate passive design principles for a broad audience of over 13,000 visitors.
AIA New Mexico COTE
AIA New Mexico COTE assisted with a modified Ice Box Challenge in Santa Fe to demonstrate how building enclosure design and construction standards directly affect energy performance, occupant comfort, and long-term resilience. Three small housing prototypes, representing typical 1950s construction, current New Mexico energy code, and high-performance design, allowed participants to observe differences in real time. Built by students and community members with some support from local building professionals, the project paired hands-on learning with workforce development, introducing concepts such as heat transfer, air sealing, insulation, and moisture control in an applied, accessible format. The homes were ultimately donated to the Esperanza Shelter, supporting survivors of domestic violence and ensuring lasting community impact.
AIA Seattle COTE
AIA Seattle COTE organized member participation in the city’s annual Green Seattle Day, connecting architects with local tree-planting efforts. This hands-on engagement provided a tangible way for members to contribute to urban canopy restoration while strengthening ties between the design community and local environmental initiatives. Partnering with an established tree-planting organization allowed COTE to maximize member impact in the community without the barriers of planning their own tree-planting event. AIA Seattle COTE looks forward to partnering with more community volunteer organizations that focus on environment, equity, and community.