Perkins&Will’s first ESG report discloses operational performance data across key metrics

Perkins&Will recently released its first ESG report that discloses the firm’s operational performance data across key metrics and assesses its strengths and opportunities.

The firm also introduced to its internal design teams advanced best practices around energy use intensity (EUI), embodied carbon, and materials specification. Perkins&Will says it has established its own industry-leading thresholds for EUI performance and embodied carbon emissions and developed a more stringent protocol for avoiding products and materials with known human and environmental health concerns.

In 2022, Perkins&Will established a policy to transition its global operations off fossil fuels, conserve more energy, conduct embodied carbon assessments, integrate renewable energy technologies into the design of its new studios, and procure high-quality carbon offsets. The new report examines progress made in these areas.

“By putting the spotlight on our performance and sharing it with the world, we make it known that we’re serious about doing what’s right—not just for our business, but also for people and the planet,” says Kathy Wardle, regional director of regenerative design. “We’re also making it clear that we’ve got a lot more to learn.”

The firm plans to release more information—including its complete embodied carbon benchmarking study—to clients and the industry-at-large this year.

With over fifty percent of the population already living in urban areas, cities must grapple with the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change (think: Superstorm Sandy in New York). In a new report, Jones Lang LaSalle has identified steps cities can take to make their infrastructure more resilient to changing climate conditions.

| Dec 17, 2013

Nation's largest net-zero K-12 school among winners of 2013 Best of Green Schools award

The Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, was named a winner of USGBC's annual award, along with nine other schools, individuals and communities working toward the common goal of healthy, high-performing learning places.

| Dec 10, 2013

16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.

| Dec 9, 2013

What is life cycle cost optioneering?

Life cycle cost optioneering is a way of assessing alternative design options, analyzing their long-term capital and operational costs to identify those with the lowest price tag, over the entire life cycle.

The newly opened UCLA Outpatient Surgery and Medical Building consists of two wi

| Nov 27, 2013

LEED for Healthcare offers new paths to green

LEED for Healthcare debuted in spring 2011, and certifications are now beginning to roll in. They include the new Puyallup (Wash.) Medical Center and the W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.

| Nov 25, 2013

Manufacturers race to offer EPDs, HPDs in response to LEED v4

Under LEED v4, projects are awarded points for using at least 20 building products that have issued Environmental Product Declarations or Health Product Declarations. In response, manufacturers are racing to offer EPDs and HPDs for their product lines.

| Nov 22, 2013

Health Product Declaration Collaborative to develop protocol for third-party verification of HPDs

Seven leading product sustainability assessment companies partner with the HPD Collaborative to develop the verification and quality assurance protocols.

| Nov 19, 2013

Top 10 green building products for 2014

Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.