Tag: vacote

Learn how to integrate sustainability work into your firm’s standard practices and procedures.

In order to make true progress toward carbon reduction, carbon-thoughtful design must be part of the AEC industry’s standards and culture, instead of approached on a project-by-project basis. Hear from sustainability leaders representing a range of practices, including architecture, engineering and consulting, construction, and design/build firms who share the vision and infrastructure of their own firms’ sustainability and embodied carbon practice, and elaborate on how they arrived at a place where sustainable design and construction is built into their firms’ cultures. These leaders identify barriers to adopting carbon-thoughtful design and strategies for breaking down those barriers, including leveraging existing cultural and industry structures (for example: the AIA 2030 Commitment) and strengthening the connections between the existing values of firm leadership (for example: operational energy reduction; for example: materials and occupant health) and carbon reduction.

Presented by Virginia COTE with support from AIA Virginia’s Knowledge Community Grant program and the following sponsors:

SILVER
Mafi

BRONZE
Bamforth Engineers + Surveyors

Earn 1.5 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.

Learn how to speak with clients and collaborators about embodied carbon to demonstrate the value of and pathways to reducing its impacts.

Addressing embodied carbon in one’s practice requires strategy, communication, and collaboration. This course addresses how AEC practitioners can speak with clients and collaborators about embodied carbon to demonstrate the value of reducing embodied carbon and to provide pathways to reduce its impacts in projects and the environment. Learners will hear from sustainability professionals whose practices represent traditional architectural firms, large engineering and consulting firms, and small design/build practices who share approaches to reducing embodied carbon in cooperation with clients, including: managing client choices by selecting and presenting low embodied carbon materials and designs; marketing and external communications; making the economic case for use of low embodied carbon materials and designs; drawing parallels between embodied carbon and materials and occupant health; and developing mutual goals and values with clients and project teams from the early stages of a project.

Presented by Virginia COTE with support from AIA Virginia’s Knowledge Community Grant program and the following sponsors:

SILVER
Mafi

BRONZE
Bamforth Engineers + Surveyors

Earn 1.5 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.

Learn to evaluate and leverage certifications and commitments for the greatest impact.

Take a closer look at how embodied carbon is incorporated—or will be incorporated—into sustainability programs for the industry and how carbon-thoughtful design is streamlined or incentivized through these programs. The course begins with a look at the established AIA 2030 Commitment, its success in addressing operational energy, and its next iteration, which will include embodied carbon. The AIA 2030 Commitment discussion is followed by an introduction to the SE 2050 Commitment, which is an embodied carbon-focused commitment born out of the Structural Engineering Institute, to be launched in November 2020.

After looking at example commitments, the course introduces the International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification, a relatively new certification that looks holistically at operational energy and embodied carbon. And, following Zero Carbon, the Passive House certification is introduced, suggesting ways that practitioners can account for embodied carbon while pursuing this performance-focused certification. Through discussing four major industry sustainability programs, this course will help practitioners to distinguish where embodied carbon is built into certifications and commitments, and where embodied carbon considerations might need to be engineered into design and certification processes for holistic carbon reduction. AEC practitioners will receive the knowledge to evaluate and leverage certifications and commitments for the greatest impact.

Presented by Virginia COTE with support from AIA Virginia’s Knowledge Community Grant program and the following sponsors:

SILVER
Mafi

BRONZE
Bamforth Engineers + Surveyors

Earn 1.5 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.

Examine various aspects of certification programs including their incorporation of embodied carbon considerations.

Our built environment is not as sustainable, healthy, safe, equitable or inclusive as it needs to be. As design professionals we have the ability to address the global climate crisis and influence health and well-being. Health is a growing concern for homebuyers, designers, and builders alike. Building professionals are not health professionals, but we have more influence on people’s health than we may realize. We also have tools to help influence building systems and components which impact not only health, but embodied carbon and operation carbon outputs. The course includes comparisons of Indoor airPLUS, Enterprise Green Communities, LEED for Homes, Passive House, Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Standard, Fitwel, and the Active Design Guidelines. The course explores the benefits and drawbacks to using certification programs, looks at the influence they’ve had on code, and discusses their impact on our built environment—including the ways that embodied carbon considerations do or don’t factor into each program.

Presented by Virginia COTE with support from AIA Virginia’s Knowledge Community Grant program and the following sponsors:

SILVER
Mafi

BRONZE
Bamforth Engineers + Surveyors

Earn 1.5 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.

Learn about the embodied carbon impact of interior products.

This course focuses on the impact of interior product selection on embodied carbon work with an overview of some specific product types that are typical to the interior scope. It includes an introduction to resources for interior product information—including embodied carbon impacts as well as materials health. The course also looks at strategies for lower-carbon interiors, including salvage and reuse, research, and goal-setting.

Presented by Virginia COTE with support from AIA Virginia’s Knowledge Community Grant program and the following sponsors:

SILVER
Mafi

BRONZE
Bamforth Engineers + Surveyors

Earn 1.5 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.