AIA Task Force Seeks to Define Institute's Sustainability Agenda

After leading the building industry in the pursuit of sustainable design in the early 1990s, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) turned its attention elsewhere and stood by as the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with its LEED� Rating System, became the movement's dominant voice. But interest in green building keeps growing, and AIA found itself in need of a position and agenda in relation to sustainability. To address that need, AIA convened a "Sustainable Building Standards Policy Summit" on July 25 and 26, 2005, at which a task force heard presentations from various stakeholders and developed recommendations to the board of directors on AIA's role in relation to sustainable design.

The need for such a position came from two directions, according to Tom Wolfe, AIA's director of federal affairs. On one hand, AIA members consistently rated sustainability high on their list of priorities, and the Institute needed some direction on how to pursue that agenda. At the same time, various state and local agencies were being lobbied to adopt green building policies and legislation, and they were faced with competing systems in LEED and Green Globes (see EBN Vol. 14, No. 3). The policymakers were seeking input into this debate from AIA chapters, and the chapters, in turn, were seeking guidance.From Wolfe's perspective, there was little question that LEED is the superior system. "People recognized, to a person, that LEED is the most advanced system for sustainable architecture," he says. But the fact that powerful industry groups oppose LEED gave him the impression that it would be a wasted effort to lobby Congress for LEED-based tax credits. "The problem was that it wasn't non-controversial," he explains. Panelists invited to present to the task force included representatives of LEED and Green Globes, the federal government, and the two trade associations that have been most vocal in their opposition to LEED. Questioned about the decision to include industry groups but not environmental interests, Wolfe pleaded ignorance: "The fact that we didn't include environmental NGOs� "that was my mistake," he says, adding: "I didn't see the NGOs as having a whole lot to contribute, given that I thought that we were going in the direction that they'd be wanting us to go anyway."The task force heard from panelists for most of the first day, then deliberated through the next day. In the end, they may have been most influenced by a dinner presentation the evening before the event by Ed Mazria, author of the seminal 1970s text

The Passive Solar Energy Book and, more recently, a leading advocate for energy-efficient architecture to help mitigate climate change. "They heard Ed Mazria loud and clear," says Wolfe. "There is a desire to put the Institute on record as being behind legislation that will change the nation's energy policy," he adds.Even if the panel of presenters was stacked against LEED, the task force itself was not. The chair of AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE), Vivian Loftness, FAIA, also sits on the USGBC board of directors. Loftness was sought as a leader of the task force. Loftness proved unavailable, but Bob Berkebile, FAIA, and Sandra Mendler, AIA, both past chairs of COTE and former or current USGBC board members, participated and provided the group with its primary green building expertise. While the task force's recommendations are not yet finalized, it is leaning towards not endorsing any specific system, but instead identifying the key elements that AIA should look for in a green building rating system, according to Berkebile. Based on the issues they've identified so far, Berkebile believes that LEED will come out far ahead of Green Globes, especially now that USGBC is including trade associations as members (see Newly Empowered Chapters Help USGBC Accept Trade Associations). But the task force is not limiting its recommendations to the issue of which rating system to support. "More importantly, this is the beginning of a little larger dialog," says Berkebile. "People recognize that there are shifts in the market, and maybe green building deserves more attention," he adds. Wolfe concurs: "This should be a major issue for the Institute, so we need to plan for money and staff time. We need to have some long-term goals."