Superior Essex Communications Rises to the AIA’s 2030 Challenge for Carbon Neutrality

June 4, 2020

Being free from the reliance on fossil fuels in built environments is an ambitious goal for the most ardent of environmentalists. It is also the stated goal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Challenge.

Originally launched in 2006, the AIA 2030 Challenge set benchmarks that all new buildings, developments and major renovations were to be designed to meet a fossil fuel, greenhouse gas-emitting, energy-consumption performance standard of 70% below the average for a particular building type. It increased its goal to 80% by 2020, 90% in 2025, and complete carbon-neutrality by 2030. The theory is that each level of improvement can make the next step easier to attain.

Currently, over 400 architecture, engineering and planning (AEP) firms have adopted the 2030 Commitment in support of the AIA’s 2030 Challenge. In total, over 2.7 billion sq. ft. of project work has been reported annually, making the mission to date a success.

Melissa Morancy is the Director of Sustainable Knowledge and Engagement for the AIA, and she firmly believes that healthier materials need to be synonymous with healthier decisions.

“The 2030 Commitment has really been trying to push architects into creating a better environment with less carbon,” she said. “We’ve been collecting data around that for six or seven years now, and connecting it to anything other than energy outcomes is not something that we’ve been successful at doing. But it’s also not something that we’ve actually tried to do.”

Morancy added, “I think one different step that we’re trying to take now is to show how all these aspects of sustainability overlap. It is not an either-or scenario; decisions you make in one aspect effect the outcomes in another.”

Impacting Energy Outcomes  

The AIA findings have shown that 40 percent of all U.S. energy is consumed by buildings. Appropriately, it places the architects as agents of change in making significant reductions in CO2 emissions. The group’s 2030 Commitment offers architects a way to publicly show dedication to sustainability and healthy-material sourcing, as well as track progress toward a carbon-neutral future.

In 2018, those 2030 Commitment participants reported a collective energy savings equivalent to the carbon produced by 21 million acres of forest – or the size of the state of Maine.

Marc Bruni is an Associate Principal at PA Consulting Engineers, a mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology and lighting design firm that is also focused on its 2030 Commitment. His group is working to find ways to power its buildings differently by fundamentally changing the ways that they are designed. It has been offering fossil fuel-free solutions to its clients on its projects by using electricity grids that are grading with renewable portfolio standards. It allows PA’s clients a way to engage with grid grades that are becoming increasingly green.

“We show the industry a path towards making these carbon-free buildings in a cost-effective way that doesn’t negatively impact the occupants or the building owners but just provides a really positive path towards actually getting to a carbon-neutral economy by the end,” Bruni said. “We are designing some of the most sustainable buildings out there today.”

The AIA Way to Sustainability

According to the AIA website, the 2030 Challenge can be met by following these steps:

  • Establish an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) baseline and target using the Zero Tool.
  • Apply low-/no-cost, passive-design strategies to achieve maximum energy efficiency.
  • Integrate energy-efficient technology and systems.
  • Incorporate on-site and/or off-site renewable energy to meet the remaining energy demands.
  • Engage in iterative energy modeling throughout the entire design process to understand the interactive effects of various design decisions and to assess progress towards meeting the EUI target.

However, in a truly carbon-reduced world, we cannot forget the supply chain’s carbon or the “embodied” carbon of products. Superior Essex is a proud member of the Materials Carbon Action Network (Materials CAN), a group of leading firms throughout the built environment seeking to educate the market on the importance of selecting lower embodied carbon products.

Annie Bevan is the Global Head of Sustainability for Superior Essex Communications, and she believes the 2030 Challenge is one that has gained in popularity because it has set realistic goals and creates a culture of membership. “Research has shown that it is human nature to struggle with exponentials, and the 2030 Challenge allows for a linear progression to its ultimate goal,” she said. “It doesn’t expect participants to go from one static level to another that would feel impossible to attain. Rather, it progresses in a logical, incremental way that gives tangible success points along the path.”

Bevan added, “It also does it in a way that encourages a holistic approach, as well as a circular economy. It brings building owners, architects, manufacturers and contractors together in a way that positively unites them under a common goal. We’re so proud to offer communications cable – like our Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) solutions – that seeks to reduce its embodied carbon and support all project teams in achieving their 2030 Commitment goals through sustainable, intelligent design practices.”

Superior Essex Communications cable products are some of the most sustainable on the market. In fact, it is the only cable manufacturer to have third-party verified products featuring EPDs and HPDs, Declare Labels and Red List Free designations. The company is a differentiator in the market that helps others achieve their sustainability goals.

Solving Sustainability – And Sharing the Success

The DLR Group is an integrated design firm focused on sustainability that also participates in the 2030 Challenge. It has an operations side and a materials transparency side that come together to help produce a method for tracking the usage of its carbon-neutral palette.

Jill Maltby, an Architect at DLR Group, said that the teams openly engage in ways to further the 2030 Challenge initiatives. “We have an internal sustainability forum that  is currently tracking Interiors Only projects, which AIA 2030 metrics are directly related to Interiors Only projects and how we can reward projects that have invested in transparent materials in the same way that we reward projects that are reporting a really stellar EUI for 2030,” she said. “Internally, we’re trying to solve how we recognize that, and then share that out accordingly.”

Bevan believes that the more conversations that happen around the 2030 Challenge, sustainable intelligent buildings and healthy materials, the better. “Sustainability has turned a corner,” she said. “Programs like the 2030 Challenge have made more decisionmakers aware of what is going into their buildings, what specs they are using and what materials they are sourcing. As that increased awareness spreads, it will only elevate the number of participants. And that is good for everyone on a human level, not simply on a business level.”

Morancy trusts that the steady increase in participants will also further the information pool that can be studied. That increase will make decisions more educated and beneficial to the greater good. “With the 2030 data, we can not only prove energy efficiency, but now we can get that data to start proving other aspects of sustainability, whether it be health and wellness or resilience,” she said. “Data points that AIA has been collecting for years are now connecting and helping to tell a story of sustainable success.”



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