Introduction | Impact of Decisions | Key Concepts & Best Practices | Commercial Buildings | Residential Buildings | Industrial Buildings | Acknowledgements

IMPACT OF DECISIONS

Each Decision Makes a Big Impact

The majority of the buildings built today will last through the year 2100, making it crucial for us to make proactive decisions with future generations in mind.¹ Given the opportunity to upgrade, remodel, or construct a new home or building, we must consider which choices reduce emissions, increase efficiency, and move the building toward net-zero energy use. The best path toward a cleaner and more efficient building sector is to create a set of clean energy goals to implement into each phase of a new build or retrofit process. This handbook will provide a framework to allow building owners to achieve their clean energy goals.

While clean energy legislation is an important way to institute widespread change, laws and regulations have moved slowly to promote energy efficiency and net-zero emissions. Instead of waiting for significant legal and regulatory changes, private actors can take steps to get ahead of the curve and implement change. The private sector holds immense influence and can set an example by demonstrating how moving towards efficient and electrified buildings makes both environmental and economic sense. For example, Amazon, among thousands of other companies such as Microsoft, Verizon, and JetBlue, has committed to net-zero emissions by 2040. Amazon’s plan involves creating what it calls a “carbon system of record,” which measures the sources of carbon across all areas of the business to identify the most significant emitting sectors and create tailored mitigation solutions to lower emissions. Creating an effective, workable plan involves looking at the whole system and targeting seemingly small decision points that can amount to massive emissions reductions. A method like Amazon’s creates an easy on-ramp to introduce climate-oriented thinking into all decision points without sacrificing the bottom line.²

Companies with net-zero emissions plans demonstrate how businesses can lead by example in progressive climate action. This handbook provides various case studies to portray methods that have been implemented with the hope to achieve net-zero emissions. Hopefully, they offer guidance as you think about next steps for your building project(s).

1 The Future of Energy: Buildings, The Institute for Science & Policy

2 Cooperation is Crucial to Private-sector Decarbonization, says Amazon Sustainability Head, Stanford University