Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design 1
October 16, 2007 by Chris | permalink
Session 1
Scott Simpson opened by asking each of the panellists to review what has happened in their company over the past year. Reponses were as follows:
Beck Group. It is the younger staff that is driving the issues within the firm…a real bottom up approach has evolved that is fully supported by the owner of the company. We have a checklist that has three aspects – issues that are project based, issues that are technology add-ons and the last is a list for LEAD certification. We also have a program that allows us to take a look at both early cost impacts of our design decisions and impacts on longer-term energy use. We are also working on getting more out into the political arena as far as influencing new decisions.
Gensler. We see that this is incredibly challenging to get sustainability innovation into the mainstream.
Four tiers of sustainability: we are hearing more and more from clients that we want to be ‘beyond platinum’. We most importantly took this last year as an opportunity to look at our own footprint. We are seeing an increasing desire for performance metrics for energy and water and finding it very difficult to find consultants who are interested in stepping up to the plate. We are also going to be measuring all of our projects even if our clients are not interested so that WE know what is going on.
Durrant. We have just about completed the accreditation of our professionals to get them LEAD accredited. We are also aware that this is different at different offices around the Durrant family. From a NCARB perspective, we are working with the other sister organizations to rewrite the criteria for accreditation of programs to incorporate sustainable design to a much higher degree. We can see there is a real convergence amoungst NGOs. Interesting issue is how to bring sustainable design BACK into mainstream of both education and pro-actice. How long till the next ‘THING’ will come.
Its not about technology – its about collaboration.
Survey – 7% of voters know about greenhouse gases. 40% of voters think that it cars and trucks are the largest contributors. Buildings produce 48% of greenhouse gasses;
Buildings consumer 71% of energy produced at power plants.
Education and evangelism on these issues is SOOOO important.
MAGIC WAND QUESTION
Gordy – now that the politicization of climate change has been achieved we have an enormous opportunity for the reintroduction of regional planning. With my want, I would reinstitute the regionalization of our thought process.
Rives – I want to have a way in which every action has an immediate feedback consequence. It has to effect cable TV.
Betsy – I want to see regional groups to get together the issues of transit and mixed use development.
Phil – professional silos are just bullshit. I feel that we suffer deeply from silo mentality and the only way we can move forward is to break these silos. [BUT I sure want to have great specialists!!!!]
Scott – I am going to share about my meeting with Jack Warnikie – he noted that we all have to go to the bathroom. We have to use our power as designers to focus on our humanity.
