Climate Action Business Playbook
The Climate Action Business Playbook is a resource for building an architectural practice that embraces climate change mitigation and adaptation. Accelerate your firm's ability to deliver high-quality projects aligned with climate action.
Climate change requires climate action
Climate change affects every person, every project, and every client. Architects have an unprecedented opportunity to be part of creating a safer and more sustainable world for generations to come by designing to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to changing conditions.
The Climate Action Business Playbook offers a set of accessible recommendations and best practices for anyone wanting to meaningfully integrate climate action into their practice. Incorporating climate action into your practice requires action on two levels: Project-specific actions and practice-wide shifts in culture, norms, and processes.
Created by industry leaders
Spearheaded by Buro Happold, Lake|Flato Architects, the Sustainable Performance Institute, unabridged Architecture, and assisted by many passionate professionals, this document offers accessible recommendations and best practices for everyone wanting to meaningfully integrate climate action and sustainable design into their practice. This guide is designed to be a springboard to the most effective practices, high-impact activities, helpful resources, and examples to help firms define and achieve goals.
This resource is designed to accelerate every firm's efforts to deliver consistent, high-quality projects aligned with the priorities for climate.
Climate Action Playbook Introduction
Understanding the current landscape
Help mitigate and adapt to climate change as part of your design process.
Climate action firm resources
Firms play a crucial role in integrating climate action into their operations, from developing project teams to creating sustainability action plans with goals and deadlines.
Transform leadership & practice
Lead your practice to be more sustainable and climate action-orientated.
Embody climate action in studio operations
Explore key climate actions including energy reduction plans, procurement procedures, and more.
Communicate key principles
Showcase your firm’s actions, goals, and achievements to drive new business.
Climate action portfolio resources
Portfolios are key interventions for firms to embody steps for climate action.
Goal setting: Aim high
Incorporate goal setting to engage all stakeholders and establish priorities.
Measure progress & success
Measure your climate action progress with tools like roadmaps and dashboards.
Planning for change
Integrate resilience to ensure project success, particularly in a changing environment.
Climate action impact resources
The impacts of climate action expand past your firm and its projects.
Participate & advocate
Engage external stakeholders, from community members to local officials, in the design process.
Sustain research & innovation
Gain partnerships and position your firm as a knowledge leader with firm research.
Elevate all voices
Add equitable practices and diverse perspectives to your design process.
Expand education
Drive firm success with staff development, training, and ongoing education.
Become more familiar with some of the terms used in the Climate Action Playbook.
New in 2024! Access the AIA Materials Pledge By the Numbers report—tracking firm signatory progress on positive material specification.
