ECO MONTH

AIA Arizona Eco Month Tours & Lectures:

Where We Work
Green Office Tour & Lecture
March 12, 2010
12:30p.m.
Gensler
Collier Center
201 E. Washington Street, Suite 750
Phoenix AZ  85004
RSVP to diana@aia-arizona.org
20 Steps to Greening Your Office
Pocket guide for tour

Where We Live
Green Home Tour & Lecture
March 6, 2010
1:00 P.M.
Green Street Development
319 W. Virginia Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
RSVP to diana@aia-arizona.org
20 Steps to Living Green

Where We Shop
Green Shopping Tour & Lecture
March 20, 2010
11:00a.m.
Community Food Connections
Phoenix Public Market
(NE Corner of Central Ave. & Pierce St., Phoenix)
RSVP to diana@aia-arizona.org
20 Steps to Shopping Green

Where We Learn
In the final week of Eco Month 2010, AIA Arizona Committee on the Environment members will be presenting to local elementary school children on what they can do to “Walk the Walk.”  Students will learn steps they can take to help their schools become more sustainable, as well as information they can take home to encourage their parents to be eco friendly. 10 Steps to Greening Your School.

Sponsors:
Perkinson Reprographics, Inc.
Roberts|Jones Associates, Inc.
Armstrong
DAS Products
Dunn-Edwards Paints
Green Street Development
Kornegay Design

Purpose: This program exists during the month of March to educate the public of Arizona on the importance of the environmental conservation and architecture’s role in the process. A series of lectures and building tours are held throughout the State of Arizona and are free to the public. Click here to view last year’s events.

Scope: The month of March is Eco Month for the Arizona component of  The American Institute of Architects.  This year AIA Arizona’s Committee on the Environment is taking a grassroots approach to sustainability by providing practical, personal implementation strategies targeted to the general public and design professionals alike.  Lectures and building tours have been paired weekly addressing how to green our immediate surroundings: where we live (Green House, Saturday March 6 at 1pm), where we work (Green Office, Friday March 12 at 12noon), where we shop (Phoenix Central Market, Saturday March 20 at 11am), and where we learn (Green School, Friday March 26 in the afternoon).  All events will take place in Central Phoenix with easy access from the Light Rail.

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The Committee on the Environment (COTE) works to advance, disseminate, and advocate—to the profession, the building industry, the academy, and the public—design practices that integrate built and natural systems and enhance both the design quality and environmental performance of the built environment. COTE serves as the community and voice on behalf of AIA architects regarding sustainable design and building science and performance.

COTE reflects the profession’s commitment to provide healthy and safe environments for people and is dedicated to preserving the earth’s capability of sustaining a shared high quality of life. The committee’s mission is to lead and coordinate the profession’s involvement in environmental and energy-related issues and to promote the role of the architect as a leader in preserving and protecting the planet and its living systems.

COTE provides the AIA with knowledge about environmental issues and advises the Institute on environmental policy matters affecting the practice of architecture. The committee supports cooperation with educators and institutions of learning, manufacturers, government agencies, environmental organizations, and industry groups in advancing environmentally sound design processes and standards as well as environmentally innovative materials and integrated systems.

If you would like to become involved, email Rick Bright, AIA, Chairman of AIA Arizona’s C.O.T.E.

2030 CHALLENGE

Credible scientists give us 10 years to be well on our way toward global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Yet there are hundreds of coal-fired power plants currently on the drawing boards in the US. Seventy-six percent (76%) of the energy produced by these plants will go to operate buildings.

Buildings are the major source of demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG). Slowing the growth rate of GHG emissions and then reversing it over the next ten years is the key to keeping global warming under one degree centigrade (°C) above today’s level. It will require immediate action and a concerted global effort.

To accomplish this, Architecture 2030 has issued The 2030 Challenge asking the global architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

* All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of the regional (or country) average for that building type.

* At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be renovated annually to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of the regional (or country) average for that building type.

* The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings and major renovations shall be increased to:

60% in 2010
70% in 2015
80% in 2020
90% in 2025
Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate).

These targets may be accomplished by implementing innovative sustainable design strategies, generating on-site renewable power and/or purchasing (20% maximum) renewable energy and/or certified renewable energy credits.

Click here if you would like to adopt the challenge.

50 to 50

The 50to50 is a product of the Institute’s Sustainability Discussion Group (SDiG), a task group of the AIA Board of Directors that was formed early in 2007 to seek action on the critical, focused, measurable, and achievable priority of carbon reduction. The SDiG is made up of volunteer AIA members with various areas of expertise, members of the Institute’s Board of Directors, and national staff charged to facilitate development of tools that support the AIA’s carbon-reduction objectives. Click here to view the 50 strategies to achieve carbon reduction.