Embodied Carbon 101: Process + firm culture

Learn how to integrate sustainability work into your firm’s standard practices and procedures.

Description: 

In order to make true progress toward carbon reduction, carbon-thoughtful design must be part of the AEC industry’s standards and culture, instead of approached on a project-by-project basis. Hear from sustainability leaders representing a range of practices, including architecture, engineering and consulting, construction, and design/build firms who share the vision and infrastructure of their own firms’ sustainability and embodied carbon practice, and elaborate on how they arrived at a place where sustainable design and construction is built into their firms’ cultures. These leaders identify barriers to adopting carbon-thoughtful design and strategies for breaking down those barriers, including leveraging existing cultural and industry structures (for example: the AIA 2030 Commitment) and strengthening the connections between the existing values of firm leadership (for example: operational energy reduction; for example: materials and occupant health) and carbon reduction.

Learning objectives

  • Identify existing firm structures or commitments that can serve as a model for integrating embodied carbon reduction into a firm’s work as standard practice.
  • Design a plan for the integration of embodied carbon work into one’s firm’s standard procedures, based on existing firm leadership and infrastructure.
  • Demonstrate the value of embodied carbon reduction in relation to firm leadership’s and clients’ existing values.
  • Formulate a firm/practice feedback system to evaluate the integration of embodied carbon considerations into firm-wide practices and to evolve embodied carbon work to become a more streamlined and accessible part of every project.

This course is part of a series

User rating:
3.97647
Average: 4 (170 votes)
 $50  non-member
 $35  member
1.50 LUs
  • HSW
  • RIBA

Instructors

  • Barbara Batshalom Headshot

    Barbra Batshalom

    Assoc. AIA

    Founder and President | Sustainable Performance Institute

    Barbra Batshalom is founder and President of the Sustainable Performance Institute. She is an...
  • Colin

    Colin Booth

    Director of Strategy | Placetailor

    Colin Booth is the Strategic Director of Placetailor, a Boston-based design-build-develop...
  • Steven Burke Headshot

    Steven Burke

    Sustainability Manager | Consigli

    Steven is a Sustainability Manager at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., a regional construction firm...
  • Amy Hattan Headshot

    Amy Hattan

    Vice President of Corporate Responsibility | Thornton Tomasetti

    As the Corporate Responsibility Officer for Thornton Tomasetti, Amy Seif Hattan works with the firm...
  • Andrea Love Headshot

    Andrea Love

    AIA

    Principal and Director of Building Science | Payette

     

    Andrea Love is a Principal and the Director of Building Science at Payette, the 2019 AIA Firm Award...
  • Kimberly Seigel Headshot

    Kimberly Seigel

    Research Knowledge Manager | Perkins&Will

    After pursuing degrees in Environmental Studies and Environmental Management, Kimberly has spent...