2030 Commitment: More Needs to be Done

There is less than a decade remaining for the firms who committed to the American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Challenge to follow through on their pledge to achieve carbon-neutral buildings.

This year’s numbers show there’s a need for firms to zero in on their efforts. Less than half of signatory firms submitted data. Of those only 27 of those (up from 16 of 549 total participants in 2018) met the commitment’s performance thresholds.

On average, national firms are meeting the 2030 target on just 3.9% of projects.

OPN was one of the first firms, and is only one of a handful in Iowa and Wisconsin, to sign on for the commitment, a voluntary program that asks organizations develop multi-year action plans, and implement steps that can advance carbon neutrality in both design and practice.

In 2019, 18.1% of OPN projects met the 2030 threshold.

“The commitment isn’t for your most high-profile work, or for when clients ask for it. It applies across the board,” says OPN’s Director of Sustainability, Tate Walker, who is also co-chair of the 2030 Commitment working group.