Recognizing the facts that

buildings in the United States are responsible for 48% of primary energy consumption and 46% of greenhouse gases;

current trends indicate that, unless immediately addressed, the amount of energy consumed by buildings will continue to escalate;

7% to 8% of the energy consumed in the United States (25-50 Btus/1 gallon of water) is associated with the treatment and transport of municipal water;

to restrict global warming to less than 2 degrees C above pre-industrial era levels will require atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, now at 380 ppm, to be held below 450 ppm;

the decisions made today in designing buildings will directly impact the amount of energy consumed by those buildings for decades to come;

technologies and skills exist today that enable architects to design buildings to consume a fraction of the energy that is typical of current construction; and      

the American Institute of Architects has adopted the targets of  “The 2030 Challenge,” establishing the national goal of immediately reducing “site” fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in new buildings and major renovations by 50%, and continually improving energy performance so buildings constructed in 2030 will be carbon neutral;

Therefore, we recognize the imperative of immediately addressing climate change through the buildings we design, and we pledge to immediately, starting today, design our new buildings, major renovations and additions to consume 50% less energy than is typically consumed. 

Further, in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change associated with the operation of buildings and reduce greenhouse gas levels to those experienced in 1990, we additionally pledge to improve the energy and water efficiency of our building designs at the following rates until, in 2030, our buildings consume only site-generated and/or purchased renewable energy.

            Years                              % reduction in non-renewable energy

            2006 – 2010                   50%
            2010 – 2015                   60%
            2015 – 2020                   70%
            2020 – 2025                   80%
            2025 – 2030                   90%
            2030+                           100%

Clarification of Goal

The base year for determining the average consumption by each “base building” type will be 2005.

The units used to measure performance will be Btu’s per square foot per year.

To determine 2005’s average existing annual building energy consumption one of the following metrics shall be used in your analytical procedures:

2003 “weather adjusted” energy consumption for average existing buildings by specific building type and region as published by the Energy Information Agency and found in EPA’s “Target Finder,”

2007 Energy Star “base building” (once completed) by specific building type and location, accounting for both degree-days and humidity,

Calculating the “base building” as defined by ASHRAE 90.1, 2004 and multiplying this amount by 1.25 to reflect the average existing building stock for that particular building type in 2005, or
           
Calculating the “base building” as defined by ASHRAE 90.1, 1999 and multiplying this amount by 1.20 to reflect the average existing building stock for that particular building type in 2005.

Recognizing that water savings can be directly related to energy savings, municipal water savings can be substituted for energy savings at the following rate: 

            1 gallon of municipal water savings equates to 150 Btu’s of energy savings.
           

This pledge shall encompass the average of all building designs initiated by you over the course of each particular year through 2030.

To learn more about the 2030 Challenge, your pledge and the impact it will make, you can also visit www.architecture2030.org

Please let us know if you are making a commitment to support the 2030 Challenge.
To do so , please fill the form below and commit today !

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