Story at a glance:
- Global architecture firm Gensler is working toward achieving carbon neutrality on all of its projects by 2030.
- The Gensler Cities Climate Challenge (GC3) was developed to meet the carbon neutrality goal with clear steps.
- Strategies for reducing embodied carbon include right-sizing, choosing low- and zero-impact materials, reusing buildings, and more.
As the world grapples with the realities of climate change, the built environment is finding ways to reduce its carbon footprint. Even small changes can make a large impact, considering the buildings and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering 37% of global emissions, according to a 2023 report from the UN.
Architects Working Toward Carbon Neutrality
Gensler is among those designing the path forward, with a goal of achieving carbon neutrality on all of its projects by 2030.
As the building and construction sector is responsible for more than one-third of global emissions, finding ways to lower or eliminate the carbon footprint is necessary to impact the effects of climate change.
For a company like Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the world, reaching carbon neutrality is not just an abstract goal; it’s a responsibility. But the journey toward carbon neutrality is complex, particularly when it comes to the selection and use of building materials. Gensler launched its Gensler Cities Climate Challenge (GC3) with the specific goal of achieving carbon neutrality, according to Vince Flickinger, principal and design director at Gensler’s Houston office and global practice area leader for energy.
As part of the GC3 efforts, Gensler says architects first have to be able to measure their impact in order to improve outcomes and reach carbon neutral goals. “To do that we must establish a universal and uniform method for measuring the operational and embodied carbon across all our projects. We are streamlining our data collection from consultants to wrap our arms around our operational carbon. To understand our embodied carbon output, we’re identifying accurate material quantities and assigning embodied carbon values to them,” they announced.
Material Impact
The Gensler Seattle team’s resilience goals resulted in diverting 22,039 pounds from the landfill and avoided 8.5 total metric tons of greenhouse gases. Photo by Heywood Chan Photography
Often Flickinger and the Gensler team also have to ask themselves: How do we move toward carbon neutrality in a world that isn’t carbon neutral? They are turning their attention to materials. Strategies for reducing embodied carbon include right-sizing, selecting low- and zero-impact materials, reusing buildings instead of engaging in new construction, and offsetting impact through net-positive production and/or increases in carbon sequestration (captured through absorption), according to GC3.
To streamline the selection of materials that contribute to carbon neutrality, Gensler also recently developed the Gensler Product Standards. This initiative involves rigorous vetting of products based on their environmental impact, ensuring they meet or exceed specific standards.
“We look at all the documentation based on a standard, and this filter allows us to look at a list of products that we know have been vetted, that either meet or exceed [specific standards],” Flickinger says.
