Overview
The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a new set of public and private sector commitments aligned with President Biden’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the federal government’s power as the largest purchaser in the world to advance low-carbon construction materials across its procurement and funded infrastructure projects.
As part of the private sector commitment, the American Society of Civil Engineering Institute’s SE 2050 has committed to achieving net zero embodied carbon structural systems by 2050. Currently, 98 structural engineering firms, including Walter P Moore, have signed the SE 2050 Commitment Program letter to formally join SE 2050, representing a total of 29 states and the District of Columbia.
Furthermore, the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) announced 20 embodied carbon Regional Hubs across 16 states. Collaborations with building designers and policy makers have supported the CLF’s Embodied Carbon educational series and the development of a pilot national database of whole building life cycle analysis models to set ambitious carbon-reduction targets and incentivize high-impact reduction strategies.
“As a SE 2050 signatory firm Walter P Moore is advocating and educating within our firm, our profession, and our industry regarding the importance of measuring and minimizing embodied carbon. Our early adoption of advanced digital tools and our ConnecTID process allows us to track embodied carbon and offer insights for optimization throughout the design and construction lifecycle,” says Dirk Kestner, director of sustainable design at Walter P Moore, board member of the CLF, and a member of the SE 2050 Leadership Group. “Furthermore, Walter P Moore is proud to be a long-term supporter of the Carbon Leadership Forum’s initiatives and efforts to reduce embodied carbon across the entire AEC industry.”
Walter P Moore’s commitment to reduce embodied carbon is outlined in the stewardship report Embodied Carbon, A Clearer View of Carbon Emissions, which details essential measures the AEC industry can incorporate to ensure near-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
