Sustainable Design Policy Center
The AIA seeks to dramatically increase the number of high-performance buildings constructed in the coming decades. Many architects have already incorporated energy efficient design principles into their work, and these efforts continue to expand within the profession. In addition, the AIA supports federal, state, and local legislation and incentives that encourage and aid the construction of high-performance buildings.
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Public Awareness of Sustainability
A number of steps have already been taken at the federal, state,
and local levels to increase awareness of and adherence to
high-performance design principles and standards. In recent years
several states have introduced, and in some cases passed,
legislation requiring that state-funded public building
projects meet high-performance building standards. A number of
state governors have signed similar executive orders. A wide array
of tax incentives, rebates, and grants have been put in place at
the federal, state, and local levels to encourage various means of
increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.
Recognizing how difficult it is to keep track of all of the methods
being used to enhance high-performance building efforts, we've
compiled information delineating those states with high-performance
building legislation, those with Executive Orders, those with tax
incentives, and a number of additional resources related to the
issue of high-performance building.
General Information
- AIA Sustainability Resource Center
- Sustainability 2030 Toolkit
- AIA Position Statement on Sustainable Practice
- Fact Sheet on Architects and Climate Change
- The AIA's Sustainable Design Assesment Teams (SDAT) Designing a Sustainable World
Sustainability in the News
- Green Schools: Color Them Healthy Places of Teaching and Learning (an op-ed by RK Stewart in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, September 13, 2007 )
- AIA Vice President Mike Rodriguez, AIA, Testifies before the House Committee on Small Business about Small Businesses and Energy Opportunities (October 17, 2007)
- AIA President RK Stewart Testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (February 12, 2007)
- Sustainability Articles from AIA's The Angle
State and Local Resources
- Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Study of Green Building Programs in Our Nation's Communities
- Mayors' Resolution 50, Adopting the "2030 Challenge" (adopted June 2006)
- National Association of Counties Resolution, Adopting the "2030 Challenge" (adopted July 2007)
- Draft Letter to Your Mayor
- State Public Green Building Laws
- Current Green Building Legislation -NEW-
- Executive Orders
- Tax Incentives
- Additional Resources
Federal Resources
- The AIA believes that governmental policies, programs, and
incentives should encourage energy conservation, especially as it
relates to the built environment. We believe that Congress
should use its authority over federal buildings to show the way for
the private sector in reducing the energy consumption footprint of
the built environment. Therefore, the AIA has developed
developed an aggressive Federal Building Energy
Proposal based upon an Executive Order adopted in New
Mexico.
- Supporting Materials