AIA Targets 50% Energy Reduction in Buildings

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) board of directors has set a goal of halving the amount of fossil fuels needed to construct and operate buildings by 2010 and reducing that amount a further 10% in each of the following five years, which would result in a 70% reduction from current levels by 2015. The ambitious goal was set in one of two “High Performance Building Position Statements” approved by AIA in December 2005, which in turn emerged from the Institute’s Sustainable Building Standards Policy Summit in July (see EBN Vol. 14, No. 9). The task group that developed these statements was led by R. K. Stewart, FAIA, director of Gensler’s San Francisco office and incoming (2007) chair of AIA.

The first position statement, “Sustainable Architectural Practice,” charges architects with leading the building industry towards more sustainable practices. This statement envisions “a multiple-year effort in conjunction with clients, industry partners, and concerned organizations” and identifies nine specific actions in support of that effort. The goal of reducing fossil fuel use by 50%, among the nine recommendations, was inspired in part by recent work by Santa Fe, New Mexico architect Ed Mazria, AIA, who modified some standard assumptions used in analyzing U.S. energy use by sector. Including the energy embodied in building materials and some other adjustments, Mazria found that the share of energy use attributable to buildings grows dramatically, from 27% to nearly 50%. Mazria argues that, to avoid a global catastrophe, it is necessary to cut global fossil fuel use by 50% immediately, and to reduce emissions much further by 2030. Other actions on the list include collaborating with other organizations, integrating sustainability into architecture curricula, documenting the contributions to humankind and the planet from sustainable design practices, and advocating globally for sustainable design.