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AIA Launches “Walk the Walk” – A New Sustainability Campaign for Green Building Design
Program includes new advertising campaign and an aggressive roadmap for making public buildings carbon neutral and reducing overall fossil fuel consumption
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., January 15,
2008 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the launch
of “Walk the Walk,” a multi-faceted campaign to educate,
promote and encourage sustainable design among consumers, business
owners and architects. The purpose of the program is to help inform
the marketplace on the benefits of more energy-efficient homes and
buildings, which coincides with the AIA’s stated goal of
making all buildings carbon neutral by 2030 and helping the U.S.
design and construction industry reduce the consumption of fossil
fuels in buildings. To advance its efforts in achieving a 50
percent fossil fuel reduction by 2010, the AIA also is implementing
a comprehensive communications plan, inclusive of print and online
advertising, new media and public relations.
“As America continues to be saturated by messages of
‘going green,’ there is a general lack of understanding
that buildings are one of the primary sources of the greenhouse
gases contributing to global warming and climate change,” said
Christine McEntee, Executive Vice President and CEO of the AIA.
“The ‘Walk the Walk’ program will raise awareness of
this issue and provide practical energy saving solutions for people
who build, work and live in buildings of all shapes and
sizes.”
“Now is the time we must highlight the benefits of more
energy-efficient homes and buildings to secure the future for our
children and their children,” said former AIA President RK
Stewart, FAIA. “This is a critical initiative for the AIA. The
architecture profession is not merely providing resources and
metrics that frame the issue of sustainable design, rather, more
importantly, the AIA is offering design strategies and innovations
that will lead to a healthier planet. This is not a new issue for
architects, the AIA has been awarding the country’s top green
projects since 1997 and have numerous partnerships with government
agencies and collaborative relationships with design and
construction industry organizations to help advance the cause of
sustainable design.”
AIA RESOURCES ON SUSTAINABILITY
To achieve its goals, the AIA offers two environmental
toolkits:
• SustAIAnability 2030 Toolkit
For the 2030 Tool Kit, the AIA partnered with the United States
Conference of Mayors (USCM) to encourage city leaders to promote
high-performance, sustainable building design with a goal of
reaching a 50 percent fossil fuel reduction by 2010 and carbon
neutral buildings by 2030. The National Association of Counties
joined AIA and USCM in advocating these energy reduction goals. The
toolkit highlights green building issues and provides samples of
effective ordinance language for communities, as well as examples
of what others are already doing to pursue green building programs.
The 2030 Tool Kit can be accessed online at http://www.aia.org/toolkit2030/.
• 50to50 Toolkit
The 50to50 toolkit is a set of 50 strategies, tools and techniques
that can have an immediate impact on architects’ ability to
achieve significant reductions in energy use and carbon emissions
for the buildings they design. For example, the 50to50 toolkit
recommends designing buildings to maximize passive strategies like
incorporating more windows to capitalize on daylight and use less
lighting energy. To view the complete list of 50 strategies, please
visit http://www.aia.org/fiftytofifty.
• Walk the Walk" Sustainability
Resources
This national communications campaign calls on architects, their
clients, and the public to work together to create a greener
footprint on the planet and includes advertising, online sustainability resource centers, and
GreenStep, a multipart informational series detailing the benefits
of utilizing sustainable design. GreenStep is available online at
the end of January.
Additionally, an AIA staff Resource Architect focused exclusively
on sustainable design, will provide consumers and the media with
valuable tips and resources on a variety of sustainable design
topics as well as supporting the AIA's advocacy efforts for
legislative and regulatory changes that lead to its goal of carbon
neutral buildings by 2030.
The AIA is undertaking other initiatives, including the sustainable
renovation of its corporate headquarters in Washington D.C.,
participation in the greening of the U.S. Capitol, issuing an
evaluation of current green building certification standards and
focusing on sustainability at this year’s AIA National
Convention and Expo, slated for May 15 through May 17 in
Boston.
About The American Institute of
Architects
For over 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects
have worked with each other and their communities to create more
valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and
cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge,
and tools to create better design, and through such resources and
access, they help clients and communities make their visions real.
www.aia.org
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