#4 Current Trends in Sustainability
Current Trends in Sustainability - Blog 3
Carbon Leadership Forum
The Carbon Leadership Forum is a nonprofit network focused on reducing the embodied carbon- the greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and construction - in buildings, infrastructure, and the built environment. They "accelerate the transformation of the building sector to radically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to materials (also known as embodied carbon) used in buildings and infrastructure. They "research, educate, and foster cross-collaboration to bring embodied carbon of buildings and infrastructure down to zero" to create better buildings for a better planet.
According to the carbon leadership forum website, the world's population will be doubling the amount of building floorspace, equivalent to building an entire New York City every month for 40 years. Much of the carbon footprint of these new buildings will take the form of embodied carbon. The goal is to prevent the carbonization of buildings and building materials between now and 2060. In order to avoid to catastrophic impacts of climate change, it is essential that we reduce embodied carbon now and develop a pathway to low-carbon construction on every building project. CLF engages in a variety of research programs and projects designed to improve data, methodologies, and tools to drive the reduction of embodied carbon. CFL facilitates broad collaboration among diverse individuals and organizations to navigate complexity and support the transformation and decarbonization of the global building industry.
Architecture 2030
Architecture 2030 is also a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 2002 to tackle the climate emergency through transformation of the built environment and one of the largest contributors to the global greenhouse gas emissions. According to archietcure2030.org, the built environment generates 42% of the annual global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, building operations are responsible for 27% annually, while building and infrastructure materials and construction (typically referred to as embodied carbon) are responsible for an additional 15% annually. Because of this, their goals attempt to the rapidly transform the built environment from a major emitter of CO2 to an active solution to climate change. They also hope to achieve dramatic reduction in building energy use in CO2 emissions for 2030 and a complete phase-out of fossil fuel emissions by 2040. Lastly, their mission is to advance sustainable, resilient, equitable, zero-carbon buildings, communities, and cities through design, education, policy, and collaboration. Part of their pan to make this happen, is to introduce Challenges as an organization and goals for the future to see changes and improvement as a society to reduce emissions and provide a structure for tracking that progress.
Healthy Building Network
The Healthy Building Network, rebranded as Habitable, is an American non-profit that focuses on the health impacts of building materials and promoting sustainable, less toxic choices. Habitable activates science to reimagine the materials economy so we can rebalance the health of humans and our planet. According to the Habitable Future website, there are many threats facing our planet, from climate change to chemical pollution. Out of the 9 planetary boundaries that must stay within to survive and thrive, we've crossed the threshold for 6 of them. To protect our future, we must think holistically to find the intersectional solutions. Their strategy targets the "take-make-waste" model of consumption that puts our communities and climate at risk. They also advocate for healthier building policies and practices and collaborates with designers, manufacturers, and advocates to phase out toxic substances. Habitable believes that "admitting our problem is the first step to restoring nature's balance, so that we can reexamine the impact that the economy decisions have on planetary and human health". Pollution harms both the environment and human health, so being mindful of our choices in production and consumption makes a positive impact because "healing the planet heals ourselves".
ONE STEP FURTHER:
I chose to do my one step further on how each oof these organizations related and found some interesting things. First, Architecture 2030 sets broad climate-driven targets for the built environment (energy & carbon). The Carbon Leadership Forum focuses more on the embodied component that Architecture 2030 increasingly emphasizes. The Healthy Building Network (Habitable) compliments climate goals by advocating for healthy, nontoxic materials. The link climate and health in sustainable building practices that everyone can follow to make impact.
References:
Architecture 2030. (n.d.). The 2030 challenges. https://www.architecture2030.org/the2030challenges/
Carbon Leadership Forum. (n.d.). Who we are. https://carbonleadershipforum.org/who-we-are/
Habitable. (n.d.). Habitable | Creating a path to planetary health. https://habitablefuture.org/
Hi Grace, I really enjoyed reading your post about sustainability trends. It was very interesting to find the similarities between the organizations that you discussed in your one step further section. I did some more research on energy and carbon in terms of sustainability. I found an excellence scholarly source that addresses the role of green technology innovation and renewable energy in carbon neutrality. I learned that non-renewable energy consumption boosts CO2 emissions and population and personal income are also determinantal to carbon emissions. I thought you would enjoy this article!
ReplyDeleteShan, S., Genç, S. Y., Kamran, H. W., & Dinca, G. (2021). Role of green technology innovation and renewable energy in carbon neutrality: A sustainable investigation from Turkey. Journal of environmental management, 294, 113004.
You did a great job explaining how each organization plays a different role in sustainability. I liked how you explained that the Architecture 2030 sets big energy and carbon goals, the Carbon Leadership Forum focuses on embodied carbon in materials, and the Healthy Building Network works toward safer, non-toxic products. Your explanation made it easy to understand how they all connect and support each other in creating better buildings.
ReplyDeleteHere is an article that I read that connects to what you wrote. It’s about environmental sustainability, eco-friendly materials and energy efficient choices.
https://www.architecturecourses.org/design/environmental-sustainability-interior-design
Thank you for sharing this detailed list of current initiatives. Sustainability is important and should be a focus of every project. The explanations you provided are spot on and thorough.
ReplyDelete