Originally Published December 7, 2017 on AIA.org. The message is clear: institutions of all sorts are looking for architecture firms with trackable metrics, a staple of the 2030 Commitment. Clients of all types are committing to carbon-elimination targets and seeking out design teams that can deliver energy-efficient projects, including an increasing focus on net zero or […]
Read More… from What makes AIA 2030 signatory firms stand out?
I started on my green building path in the 1990’s. Since then, the number one complaint I’ve heard is about the architect/MEP engineer deadlock. There is rarely an architecture firm that I talk to that is happy with the MEP engineers they are working with (in the context of sustainability) and very few MEP firms […]
Read More… from The Arch-MEP Saga 10 Years Later: A Personal Tirade
by guest blogger Bill Walsh The year 2013 was a turning point in which product transparency emerged as a cornerstone of corporate sustainability efforts. In the green building movement, this was driven by the Health Product Declaration (HPD), an open-standard format for reporting building product content and related health hazard information. The HPD is triggering […]
Read More… from Product Transparency: There’s No Turning Back Now
2013 was a great year at SPI. We worked with a wide variety of companies–from global manufacturing giants to universities and from large multi-national design firms to small, single office architecture studios–to help them develop or fine-tune their sustainability programs. In addition, SPI’s Certification program was adopted by HUD and 24 affordable housing developers from […]
In many ways, LEED has been the tail wagging the dog.A tool originally intended to define green building metrics – repurposed as a ‘design’ tool.An ‘end of pipe’ measuring stick relied on to drive change in professional practice and collaboration. That can’t end well. Because sustainability was initially introduced to the industry through LEED and […]
by Jim Newman of Linnean Solutions Data quality may be the elephant in the room when we talk about widespread energy and water use reporting. Energy and water use reporting in the US has grown in importance because of a combination of corporate reporting needs and municipal regulation. This article looks at two key types […]
Read More… from Are Those Numbers For Real? The Role of Data Quality Management
Our March “State of the State” Roundtable highlighted new accomplishments from 2012 and new activities planned for 2013. The group shared some inspiring achievements and we’d love to hear yours!. See the highlights below and click the link to add your thoughts! Some trends emerged: Advocacy: 2030 adoption and advocacy increased in 2012 and continues […]
SPI facilitates a peer-only Leadership Circle through LinkedIn. This multi-disciplinary group of sustainability leaders come from all over the world and share the responsibility of leading sustainability efforts within their companies. Each month, we interview one of these leaders in our Spotlight. If you are responsible for implementing sustainability efforts within your company, please join […]
Read More… from Leadership Spotlight: Chris Leary on The Role of Disrupters
Welcome to the SPI Leadership Spotlight! In this series, we interview professionals from across the industry—from architecture, engineering, construction, facility management—and find out what helps their companies achieve success. We believe sharing our stories is an important way we can learn from each other and, as a community, raise the bar on what we accomplish! […]