Beginning closest to home, AIA California’s Climate Action Committee has produced a wealth of material on building decarbonization. The “What You Can Do Right Now” series highlights immediate opportunities to make an impact. See, for example:
“What You Can Do Right Now: Electrify Everything”
“What You Can Do Right Now: 10 Ways to Reduce Concrete’s Carbon Footprint”
The Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) is an influential non-profit group, whose mission is “to eliminate carbon in buildings and infrastructure by inspiring innovation and spurring change through collective action.” CLF recently published a key report, of which all California architects should be aware: The California Carbon Report.
Even Autodesk is getting in the mix with “Exploring Carbon-Negative Materials: Autodesk Research’s Path to Net-Zero Buildings” and “Forma’s new Embodied Carbon Analysis: Understand the carbon impact of your early design decisions.”
Like any complex endeavor, building decarbonization raises difficult issues, several of which are currently being hashed out. Among those we should pay attention to are:
Equitably decarbonizing existing building stock: “Decarbonizing California Equitably: New SAJE Report Looks at the Effects of Decarbonization on Tenants Across the State”
Grid capacity: The impact of the additional electrical load from building decarbonization and vehicular electrification on an aging, spread-out power grid. See, for example, this article from the LA Times: “How hard is it to develop California’s electric grid of the future? Like repairing a car while driving”
Carbon accounting: Carbon credits, how they’re priced and valued, and whether they are credible or not. One entry point into the discussion is through the carbon credit market itself. See, for example, “Microsoft Strikes 2 Record-Breaking Carbon Credit Deals.” Another is through the EPA, outlining how to avoid “Double Counting.”
Carbon capture and sequester: Can it be done effectively? If so, that’s something designers will need to dig into. Take a look at Blaine Brownell’s recent article in ARCHITECT magazine, “Carbon Capture and Storage Is Crucial to Lowering Emissions.”
Energy Management and Information Systems (EMIS) are maturing to offer immediate, cost-effective reductions in energy use. See the work being done at Lawrence Berkeley Labs.
And, a micro topic but one that always sparks heated discussions: cooking with electric: “Legendary chef Alice Waters ‘absolutely ready to go electric’ on stoves.”
One additional resource from Season 2 of arcCA DIGEST: Bill Leddy, FAIA, “Zero Carbon Architecture: The Business Case”
And, of course, one way to lower overall carbon is to reuse our buildings!
Leigh Christy, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, is a Principal at Perkins&Will, where she co-directs Research as well as co-created and leads the firm’s Innovation Incubator. A recent member of AIA California’s Climate Action Committee and a former member of the arcCA DIGEST Editorial Board, she remains a trusted advisor to the journal. Tapping her expertise in building decarbonization, we asked her to lead this season’s “Briefing.”
