May 16, 2007—To reduce the building design industry’s impact on the environment, key leaders in that sector are collaborating to establish carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Architecture 2030, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the US Green Building Council, supported by representatives of the US Department of Energy, finalized an agreement of understanding recently, establishing a common starting point and a goal of net zero energy buildings.
While focused on designing net zero energy buildings, the ultimate goal is carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. In joining together, the groups recognize that “the building sector accounts for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US annually.”
To reach that goal, AIA, ASHRAE, Architecture 2030, IESNA and USGBC agreed to define the baseline starting point for their common target goals as the national average energy consumption of existing US commercial buildings as reported by the 2003 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).
For more information, see the ASHRAE Web site.
