The American Institute of Architects is committed to improving the environmental stewardship of the design, construction, and preservation of buildings and spaces.

The AIA publication on Disruption, Evolution and Change: AIA’s Vision for the Future of Design and Construction, details an aspirational path forward for our profession’s commitment to meeting 2030 climate objectives. The four focus areas of the report — energy, health/safety, welfare and transparency — speak to methods to help us achieve our objective of leading the change we seek. They also help to frame our discussions and partnerships to advance environmentally responsible design and construction.

The scope of this work provides a perspective and aspirational approach that we believe provides real-world steps that address climate change today, which we know will determine how future generations will live, work, learn, and play.

We also know that smart, energy-efficient design alone will not help us to meet the carbon-reduction goals needed to forestall or to prevent the worst effects of climate change. This document asks all industry stakeholders to work together to urge policymakers, at all levels of government, to implement policies that encourage architects, builders, our clients, and others to make reducing the carbon footprint of our society a top priority.