Daniel Overbey, AIA, is an Associate Principal and Director of Sustainability for Indiana-based Browning Day and an Associate Professor of Architecture at Ball State University’s R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning. His work focuses on high-performance and zero net energy/zero net carbon building design and construction, environmental systems research, energy/life cycle assessment modeling, and resilient design. Daniel has led sustainability efforts on a range of high-profile green building projects.
Daniel holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Hel is a past President of the Indiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architect (AIA Indiana), past Chair of the Indiana affiliate of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and current co-chair of the AIA 2030 Commitment Working Group.
Courses
2030 and Beyond: Architecture2030 and the AIA’s Work Towards Net Zero Emissions
Now five years away from the year 2030, leaders from AIA 2030 Commitment and Architecture2030 come together on this panel to discuss where progress is being made in the buildings sector and where needs improvement. Speakers will chart the history of Architecture 2030, the AIA 2030 Commitment and then outline what specific actions are needed from the industry to mitigate the worst emissions pathways. In doing this, they will deep dive into two new reports, the AIA 2030 By the Numbers (RY24) and Architecture2030’s 2030 Beyond the Numbers (RY24), that analyze the reported predicted energy data from over 450 AIA 2030 Commitment signatory firms that culminate to >40k projects and 4 billion gross square feet (GSF).
This session was recorded live on October 22, 2025.
AIA 2030 Commitment By the Numbers (RY25): A Look into Firms’ Progress Towards Net Zero Emissions
How much progress have the more than 24,286 projects totaling 3.4 billion gross square feet (GSF) designed last year made toward achieving net-zero carbon? The AIA 2030 Commitment, a major climate initiative, brings together almost 1,600 architecture and design firms that have agreed to monitor their projects' energy data with the aim of attaining carbon neutrality in the built environment. Following the release of the 2030 By the Numbers 2025 report, we will discuss the report's main findings.
We will examine the trends in overall energy performance, the growing use of energy modelling, and the way in which renewables, fuel sources, and embodied carbon are reported. Looking to the future, since the Commitment has now been in place for 17 years and is less than five years away from 2030, the Working Group is suggesting a move away from the energy savings defined in CBECS 2003 towards total carbon reporting — a change in direction which will start with a series of iterative updates starting next year.