{"id":89374,"date":"2021-08-16T21:30:56","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T21:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/viewpoints\/design-climate-crisis\/"},"modified":"2024-04-12T13:38:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T17:38:44","slug":"design-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"metro_viewpoint","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/viewpoints\/design-climate-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Design and the Climate Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On April 22, 2021, Metropolis<\/em>\u2019s Editor in Chief Avi Rajagopal hosted a panel called \u201cEarth Day 2021: Design and the Climate Crisis,\u201d which focused on incorporating sustainability into projects and addressing equity, health, and resilience through design. He spoke with Verdical Group<\/a>\u2019s CEO and Founder Drew Shula, USGBC<\/a>\u2019s Elizabeth Thompson, and Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s Vivian Loftness to reflect on the opportunities that we have in the building sector in the fight against the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avinash Rajagopal:<\/strong> We are about nine years from the 2030 deadline and, at the start of the year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) again reminded us that this year has to be a year of action. What is top of mind for you as far as sustainability is concerned? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivian Loftness:<\/strong> The first thing is making it clear how critical the building sector is to a solution. If you Google \u201cgreenhouse gases\u201d and look at every pie chart, you’ll find that buildings are this little sliver that is split into residential and commercial. As a consequence, public policy often diminishes the importance of built environment, and yet we are somewhere between 35% to 40% of the answer. The number of firms that have signed on for the 2030 commitment is rising rapidly. I think there are well over 700 firms\u2014large and small\u2014and they’re literally ensuring that their entire portfolio, both new and retrofit, is driving toward carbon neutrality. And at this point, many of them are 70% below where they started in their commitment, which is huge. We have to get to a 50-quad reduction in carbon by 2050 as a standing load for a nation at-large\u2014and through efficient new building design, the building sector could make up five or six of those quads just through 2030 commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drew Shula<\/strong>: One big thing for me is just simplifying the message. There is a lot of terminology that’s complicated and we just need to simplify things and stick to the most important data points. As Vivian mentioned, one of the most important things is that the AEC industry is 40% of the problem\u2014but that’s also inspiring because it’s such a positive impact that we make as an industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth Thompson<\/strong>: What we’re doing here is appreciating our relationships with all beings on the planet. We’re toward the end of the pandemic and we\u2019ve been challenged in all sorts of ways to increase our understanding of equity and social justice. I love Drew\u2019s message of simplifying and taking that broad scope of the construction industry and looking at that as somewhere we can make a big difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n