How can your small architecture firm become more sustainable?

Currently, more than half of larger firms have a sustainability or climate action plan, while fewer than a third of smaller firms do.

A packed room in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center kicked off AIA’s Conference on Architecture 2022 at the first education session of the week, “Small Firms: Making the Pivot to a Sustainability-Focused Practice.” A panel of four professionals from smaller architecture firms discussed motivations, successes, and pitfalls in moving their small firms toward a common goal of sustainability.

“Conserving energy isn’t necessarily the thing we care about from a sustainability point of view; we care about carbon emissions,” said Nadav Malin, Hon. AIA and President of BuildingGreen Inc., a Vermont-based consulting and training firm that helps architects and designers ensure healthy and sustainable design and construction strategies.

“The most important thing is to stop burning carbon and to stop investing in systems that will burn toxic fossil fuels. It’s important to make the choice to go electric when you can,” said Malin.

Joined by Gwen Fuertes, AIA, Associate at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, Janet Olson, AIA, Principal at G|R|E|C Architects, and James Roseberry, AIA, Senior Project Manager at Trivers, Malin hosted the panel and examined how smaller firms can pivot into a more sustainable mindset.

Members of the audience were asked to fill out short virtual surveys to gauge their background and their level of experience with sustainability at their firm. More than 75% of the architects in the crowd worked at a firm with fewer than 20 employees. Much of the audience worked in either single family, commercial office, or multi-family sectors.

When asked specifically about sustainability, more than 75% said their firm is either interested in sustainability or it is a core tenant to their firm’s mission, while individually more than 90% of the members of the audience claimed they are either “passionate” or “supportive” of sustainable design.

The majority of audience members stated that they regularly discuss the environmental impact their projects have.  

Despite this interest and focus on sustainability, most of the audience said they didn’t require training for sustainability education, nor did they set minimum sustainability expectations for their clients, in contrast with the recently updated AIA Code of Ethics, which states that “members shall consider with their clients the environmental effects of their project decisions.”

Throughout the 90-minute session, each panelist provided tips to the audience on how they could be more compliant with sustainable practices and gave advice on how to meet potential sustainability goals.

“I think a lot of people in my generation are looking to set careers in designing spaces that respond to climate change,” said Fuentes. “This session is about a pivot to sustainable practice. There is so much more we can do, and we all have work to do.”

For example, if a firm doesn’t have a sustainability or climate action plan, Fuentes recommended looking at examples of plans from other firms and beginning a working document that follows those guidelines, emphasizing that it doesn’t need to be fully polished from day one. She also recommended diving into AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence, a robust resource designed to inspire sustainable, resilient, and inclusive design.

According to Fuentes, more than half of larger firms have a sustainability or climate action plan, while fewer than a third of smaller firms do. “Smaller firms have different challenges and opportunities when it comes to achieving a sustainable design culture,” she said. “We have to be nimble because we all wear more hats. It’s not that we can’t do sustainable practice.”

Due to continuing education requirements for architects, Roseberry stressed the importance of focusing on sustainability in new education initiatives.

Roseberry recommended looking at AIA programming, on a local, state, and national level, for webinars related to issues on sustainability and climate. “Given AIA’s focus on sustainability, there is so much information out there for people to educate themselves. There’s a great group of resources.” He added that requiring or rewarding employees for sustainable accreditation can help your firm become more focused on these issues.

He recommended starting with a firm-wide LEED GA accreditation in order to get your firm on the right track in relation to sustainability.

Additional recommendations include following the “if you can do one thing” resources within the aforementioned Framework for Design Excellence, and if possible, working with a climate consultant on some projects in order to learn the right processes.

Ultimately, the panel agreed that it’s important to set goals related to climate and sustainability and that trying to do too much too fast ends up being futile in the long run.