The COTE Network, which consists of around 50 local COTE chapters across the country, is off to a great start in 2022! The Network’s leadership group is growing; it now consists of COTE Leadership Group’s Communications Leader, Kira Gould, COTE Network Liaison, Kendall Claus, COTE Network Leaders, Bunny Tucker and Andrew Queenan, and two new Subcommittees are being formed; the Chapter Guide Network Subcommittee and the Common App Network Subcommittee. As the Network grows, these leaders are helping to facilitate connections, programming, and develop resources needed to ensure sustainable activity and overall success. They’re also working to connect and expand National COTE’s goals to reach the local AIA Chapter level.
A COTE Chapter Guide has been developed to assist members across the country form and sustain local COTE committees and to strengthen the national network of these groups. To stay relevant to constantly changing needs and progress, the Guide is to be updated on an annual basis. The 2022 Guide (V2) was recently released, which includes new resources, case studies, and more. It also highlights National COTE’s goals for 2022 and beyond; focusing on the intersection of climate action and climate justice, advancing advocacy efforts, running and refining its flagship programs (COTE TT Awards and Competition), exploring key levers of change, advancing collaborative engagements, supporting the COTE Network, and communicating with the entire built environment community about the climate era imperative and tools that can propel Architects as leaders.
The Network meets quarterly to share updates on all the great work they are doing. The first quarterly meeting of 2022 occurred on February 8. There is so much activity, it’s impossible to capture it all, but the following offers a glimpse of what committees have planned for this year. Many COTE committees are maximizing collaborative efforts with other organizations such as USGBC, ULI, and Sierra Club as well as other AIA Committees to broaden reach and impact. This is especially feasible now that most of our events are still virtual. Committees are also leaning heavily on one another; partnerships are being formed constantly.
There are several fantastic conferences/symposiums planned for the year, including AIA Central New York’s NYS Green Building Conference in March and April, AIA Los Angeles’ 1.5 Degrees Conference, AIA Houston’s Gulf Coast Green Conference, AIA Austin’s Design Excellence Conference in August, AIA New Jersey’s East Coast Green Conference in October, and AIA Asheville’s Annual Climate Symposium in November. In addition, there are several amazing educational series planned as well, focused on the AIA 2030 Commitment (AIA Austin, Central NY, Colorado, Philly, and St. Louis), Environmental Justice (AIA Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Philly, and San Francisco), as well as Decarbonization (AIA Central NY, Colorado, Orange County, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco). Other focus topics for 2022 include advocacy, electrification, resiliency, well-being, circularity, biophilic design, sustainable communities, deconstruction, and historic preservation.
AIA Colorado joined us for the first time and shared some insightful information through a survey sent to membership. As the State is building its COTE mission and goals, it’s helpful to know what membership is looking to glean from them. This survey showed that around 55% of Colorado’s membership believes they depend primarily on professional organizations like AIA for sustainable design resources and continuing education, and AIA could especially help, in regards to successful integration of sustainability, by offering strategies for enforcing clients’ desires beyond basic sustainable design approaches (53%), organizing educational events for professionals (71%), assisting with public outreach (76%), legislative influence (80%), and facilitating peer insights (64%). We’re intrigued to see how AIA Colorado COTE turns these results into action. If you’re interested in contributing to this survey or using it as a template to form your own, follow this link.