Sustainability & Climate Action
When it comes to sustainable design, there is no longer a moment, resource or opportunity to waste.
Climate change is real and separate from the challenges it creates for humanity, it also impacts business. Poor air quality, drought, severe storms – they can all impact operations, reduce productivity, destroy property and more.
That said, we can’t be paralyzed. We have everything we need to ensure humanity continues to flourish on this planet. Our CannonDesign team is excited for the future and grateful to be able to lead the way and drive transformational change.
We have every tool we need to rise to this challenge. We can transition from degenerative design approaches to a future full of regenerative and net positive design solutions. We can create better buildings and spaces that slash carbon emissions and benefit the experience for inhabitants. We need to unleash these tools to their fullest capability. Anything less moving forward is to not meet the challenge in front of us.
For CannonDesign’s sustainability team, that means we need to approach essentially every decision we make through the lens of sustainability. The AIA 2030 Commitment isn’t just a goal for us, but a necessity. A stepping stone to bolder, bigger, even more impactful climate contributions. Our team is deeply capable of helping every organization move closer to their sustainability and climate goals. Our proven measures can also improve cost, operations, brand and more too.
The simple truth is we must seize our opportunity to become an asset to the environment as opposed to a liability now, or we may miss it entirely. We are ready to bring every ounce of energy, advocacy, creativity and action to help organizations make a difference moving forward.
We have every tool we need. But, we don’t have a moment to lose. Let’s do this.
The LIFE Series
CannonDesign’s progress toward a deliberately sustainable practice is best described by a single word: LIFE. Human creativity, our spirit, our arts and our architecture are the manifestations of this unique aspect of our planet. The joy we share in our work comes from the tenets of our Vision. Our collective work has resulted in a suite of remarkable documents that enable us to celebrate and share our accomplishments.
BUILDING LIFE
We share a challenge with every one of our clients- working with increasingly limited and valuable resources. We have organized specialized sustainability services to create enduring value through reducing cost, optimizing resource consumption, and creating durable, lasting and respected buildings. This represents a shift in the delivery of architectural and engineering services towards a true life-cycle approach and long-term client engagement.
MATERIAL LIFE
This design tool enables project teams to assess and purposely select materials with lower embodied energy. This tool graphically compares construction systems and materials from “cradle-to-gate” in a format that empowers design teams to make deliberate choices focused on global energy-use reductions, and allows us to make choices for our projects that have a positive supply-chain and life-cycle impact.
WATER LIFE
Climate change has brought energy efficiency to the forefront, but the issue of how to effectively deliver and use clean water has not been adequately addressed. There is currently no standard to document that adequately and comprehensively addresses the issue of how to efficiency use water in the design, construction and operation of buildings. For this reason, we developed this document, which is a best practices guide to addressing water use reduction.
RENEW LIFE
In this document, we highlight the crucial need to employ renewable energy technologies, compiling information on educational resources, research and internal knowledge experts in a reference document for project and client teams. Building energy loads, renewable energy technologies are all covered clearly and succinctly.
About Environmental Awareness Week
Environmental Awareness Week (EAW) is CannonDesign’s annual celebration of smart ideas, innovative technologies and iconoclastic thinkers that help guide our progress toward becoming a regenerative practice. CannonDesign invites you to join us in our offices to learn with us and be inspired by our keynote speakers.