Sustainability

Millennials Make a Sustainable Mark on the AEC Industry

Thursday, December 3, 2020

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET

AIA Credits: 1.5 AIA LUs/HSW
HSW Credits: 1.5 AIA LUs/HSW

Speaker(s)

Alexander Zink, AIA

Architect
Payette Associates
Somerville, MA
Arielle Scher, Assoc. AIA

Design Coordinator
HGA
Somerville, MA
Barbra Batshalom, Assoc., AIA

Executive Director
Sustainable Performance Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
Benjamin Silverman, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C

Climate and Buildings Program Manager
City of Boston Environment Department
Jamaica Plain, MA
ME

Meredith Elbaum, AIA, LEED AP

Executive Director
Built Environment Plus
Somerville, MA

Millennials came of age during times of change and turmoil in the 2000s with 9/11 and the Great Recession. Yet we were taught that in our lifetimes, Global Climate Change would be a far more serious and devastating crisis. We were told that humans needed to make serious and dramatic changes by key milestone dates. 2020 was one of these milestones, and now millennials have arrived in the AEC workforce. We have been disappointed by the slow progress toward creating a sustainable built environment. Why has the industry not acted swiftly to embrace net-zero energy and carbon neutrality? What are the major hurdles holding back sustainable agendas? Will the pace of change meet our generation’s vision for a sustainable world? Join our group of young AEC professionals as we interview industry leaders and tackle these questions. Afterward, we hope you will walk away as an agent for a sustainable future.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize the market forces that have slowed the progress of sustainable change in the built environment.
Identify specific sustainable initiatives that have made great strides toward mitigating Global Climate Change.
Define sustainable terminology and policies, such as net-zero, carbon neutrality, stretch code, building-use disclosure ordinance.
Connect with three to five AEC professionals passionate about sustainability to learn about their advocacy, policy, and project work.