Diversity in a natural ecosystem – plants, animals, insects, microbes – is essential for long-term systemic health. Nature’s principle of “strength through diversity” can apply to us professionally – our business practices, our colleagues and the talents they bring, and the designs we create in our work, from planning neighborhood resiliency against seawater surges all the way through to details like thermostat controls in a multifamily retrofit project.

Refrigerants used in building systems have historically been a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. While eliminating chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) and moving towards refrigerants such as R-410a were steps in the right direction, there is still more work to be done. As we evaluate the full global warming potential (GWP) of a building’s life cycle, it is important to consider how different types of refrigerants can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Embodied Carbon (EC) emissions from the building sector produce 11% of annual global GHG emissions (second to transportation). Embodied carbon, unlike operational carbon, is out of sight, off site, and usually out of mind. As industry professionals, we have a responsibility to work towards a carbon-neutral built environment, and that work starts at design with a focus on the embodied carbon of a building and the materials that comprise it.

As members of the AEC industry, it is our responsibility to understand and champion low embodied-carbon building materials. Concurrently, mass timber products such as cross-laminated timber have opened the door to many new opportunities for construction.