Sustainable
design requires a big picture view. After all sustainable design is about
seeking solutions to truly global problems. While it is critical to understand
the local issues and context it is equally important to not limit your view to
the local condition. The same can be said regarding American designer’s
tendency to see all design problems through the eyes of a LEED checklist. The
saying goes – if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a
nail. Another great example of this is how the building industry in America has
finally gotten the message that buildings account for roughly 40% of the US’s
carbon emissions per year. What’s interesting is that while this is true, it’s
only a part of the picture. Climate change is tied to global greenhouse gas
emissions, not just US emissions. According to the World Resource Institute
2005 data commercial and residential buildings combined account for 16.5% of
the global greenhouse gas emissions. While this is still significant and
everyone in the building industry should be focused on reducing this
contribution, the fact is there are many other significant sources that need as
much attention as the building sector. Agriculture and land use changes combined
account for 26% of the global emissions. This accounts for activities such as
farming, livestock and deforestation.
When you look at the picture of carbon emissions you find that there is
no singular source and no singular solution.
A great way to
get the big picture is to work in or learn about other areas of the world. We
have so much to learn from each other and sustainability can only be approached
with a global scale share of information and ideas. One great benefit of
working in a foreign context is that it peaks your curiosity, sensitivity and
empathy. It can also lead to new ways of understanding things that we have
perhaps stopped questioning. At RNL we used to have “international” projects,
which were distinct from our “domestic” projects. Now we have the mindset that
all of our projects are global projects and we can apply this global experience
to projects anywhere in the world including our own backyard. I have been known
to present our sustainability work at conferences and begin with an image of
earth and note – half in fun, but also half in thoughtful seriousness – that
“this is the site of our next project.”
A recent
article by B.J. Novitski, It
Isn’t Easy Grading Green - GreenSource Magazine
offers a glimpse into green building rating systems around the world. It is
encouraging that countries around the world are developing green building
rating systems. It’s even more encouraging that the rating systems are learning
from each other. Our experience with the Estidama Pearl Rating System in our
work in Abu Dhabi has a similar affect at RNL. We appreciate Estidama’s focus
on process and actual operations. You can also learn a great deal about
sustainable design by practicing in such an extreme climate as the United Arab
Emirates.
I would like to see a more global standard for sustainability metrics; holistic frameworks that capture the full potential of design for environmental, economical and social benefits; and solutions that address the big picture issues as well as provide local innovation. This is at the heart of the purpose for RNL’s Design for One Earth framework. Let’s keep an eye on the big picture.