Posted on: April 17, 2024
For three decades, Van Meter Williams Pollack has understood the responsibility we have as architects to design for a healthier future and has implemented trusted sustainable practices throughout our projects. Being a 57-person firm, many individuals have taken time to earn professional credentials in sustainability and bring that knowledge back into the firm. And now, with the help of new energy modeling tools, we are continuously tracking energy uses and offsets.
Back in 2020, we signed on to AIA’s 2030 Commitment and its goal of achieving carbon-neutral buildings. Since then, we have reduced our projects’ average pEUI by an extra 13% and have increased the amount of energy-modeled projects by 24%. We are proud of the progress we’ve made, but we know that there is more to do.
Since tracking our projects’ energy use intensities with DDx, each year we see that our projects get more and more efficient along with an increased amount of renewables. Collectively, VMWP’s projects have reached 66% reduction with the goal of being fully carbon neutral by 2030. We are on our way! This process takes time and a lot of team effort, the latter of which we have an abundance of thanks to everyone at VMWP.
If we continue on our trajectory – continuing to reduce our EUI by ~5%/yr – we can reach our goal by 2030!
*10 projects with an EUI Reduction > 80%
SAP Feature:
As signatories of the AIA 2030 Challenge, VMWP has committed to make all new buildings and renovations carbon-neutral by the year 2030 to mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change caused by the building sector. As part of our Sustainability Action Plan (SAP), we vow to share our knowledge of sustainability practices with our design community.