Can architecture and design be part of a global climate change strategy?

The global buildings sector is responsible for more than one–third of global energy use and CO2 emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates buildings must drop total emissions by 77 percent by 2050 to cap global temperature rise at 2° Celsius, the best-case scenario for planetary surface temperature rise. We believe that it is important to elevate the conversation about the connections between climate change and the built environment, and we are focusing our attention on the power of design to create dynamic new models of energy usage, urban density, potable water conservation, and sustainable economies.

The next generation of high-performance buildings can do even better. If we designed every project at the efficiency achieved by those performing in the top 20 percent of our portfolio, we could double our impact and achieve a net reduction of approximately 8 million metric tons of CO2 emissions a year. Compounded annually until 2030, this would equal more than 102 million tons of CO2 saved from the atmosphere. Over 15 years, the emissions savings would be equal to permanently removing 6 percent of U.S. power plants from the grid.

Green building strategies are proven economic drivers. The green building industry has shown encouraging growth, reaching a reported $260 billion globally in 2013. It is predicted that as much as $1 trillion will be spent on sustainable retrofits for existing buildings over the next 10 years. Even with this growth, green buildings continue to make up a small fraction of the total building stock in highly industrialized, wealthy nations.

Architectural designers, planners, and engineers around the world need to deliver effective solutions to climate change–related phenomenon to ensure we are doing everything in our power to reduce energy demand, improve water savings, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions stemming from the built environment.

To achieve this, we must pursue design partnerships with engineers and clients who share and advance our commitment to reducing operational energy demand supported by our designs. We must design and specify building materials that consume less energy, beginning when and where they are made, and continuing through maintenance and the full building life cycle. We identified six key strategies we believe can make a significant impact:

1. Energy Reduction: Initiate energy conversations with clients at the onset of the design process, document client energy targets, and track those targets to stay honest.

2. Innovative Partnerships: Form industry-leading teams of engineers and consultants who are able to execute energy models and simulations, and leverage these models for decision making.

3. Material Selection: Before choosing materials, analyze their life cycle and embodied energy to inform discussions with clients, and encourage the selection of sustainable materials.

4. Informed Commissioning: Coach clients to commission their projects and building systems appropriately to align with building operations and energy-use targets.

5. Inclusive Decision-Making: Encourage building operators to be stakeholders in the design process to build understanding and awareness of energy goals, and ensure operators have the tools needed to track those goals.

6. Post-Occupancy Evaluation: Promote post-occupancy evaluations for all projects. These conversations are another opportunity to work with building owners and occupiers to fine-tune and calibrate projects for the highest performance.