2030 Beyond The Numbers
The Report At A Glance
2030 Beyond the Numbers is a new report from Architecture 2030 drawing on in-depth practitioner interviews, independent quantitative analysis, and a comprehensive literature review to chart an Acceleration Pathway for the architecture profession’s last mile to zero operating emissions.
The 2030 Challenge called for the elimination of fossil fuel energy consumption in buildings — an outcome that requires three interdependent strategies: reducing energy demand through efficiency, eliminating on-site fossil fuel combustion through electrification, and sourcing renewable energy. Practitioners across this research cohort have demonstrated what it looks like to embed energy efficiency as standard practice. The Acceleration Pathway charts the firm-level strategies and industry actions that would activate all three levers across the profession.
2030 Beyond the Numbers centers on what firms can do now to move closer to zero operating emissions:
- Institutionalize cultural accountability
- Measure progress toward zero operating emissions in addition to energy efficiency
- Implement the path to zero operating emissions on every project
Two decades of engagement with the 2030 Challenge have systematized energy efficiency across the profession. The last mile extends that same systematic approach to electrification and renewable energy — the levers that complete the path to zero operating emissions.
“We started just focusing ourselves…on percent towards electrification…within two years, all of our projects were all electric.”
“We really need to think about this as an emissions story.”
“Embedding design performance into every single design professional’s roles and responsibilities as their key performance metrics…that’s a big journey, and we’re finally here.”
The Acceleration Pathway
Three firm level strategies for reaching zero operating emissions.
Institutionalize
Cultural Accountability
The Foundation: Firms that have embedded performance targets into their governance, project management, and incentive structures describe a consistent shift: performance becomes a firm-wide expectation rather than a project-by-project variable.
Adopt
an Emissions-Centric Measurement Approach
The Expanded Lens: Tracking operational emissions alongside energy efficiency captures the contributions of electrification, renewable energy, and grid decarbonization — the levers that EUI alone does not reach.
Implement
the Path to Zero Operating Emissions
The Action: With accountability structures and an accurate measurement lens in place, firms can systematically pursue zero operating emissions on every project.
About The Research
2030 Beyond the Numbers was made possible through the longstanding partnership between Architecture 2030 and the American Institute of Architects, and by the thousands of signatory firms whose participation in the AIA 2030 Commitment has both transformed architectural practice and generated the dataset that made this analysis possible.
The report draws on three complementary research streams:
- Qualitative interviews
- Independent quantitative analysis
- Extensive literature reviews
Qualitative Interviews
Qualitative interviews with 39 practitioners from 31 architecture and engineering firms — including principals, sustainability directors, and technical specialists drawn from the Large Firm Roundtable, the Sustainable Design Leaders, the 2030 Commitment Working Group, and the Committee on the Environment — representing the breadth of professional practice from large, multi-national practices to small, specialized studios.
Independent Quantitative Analysis
Independent quantitative analysis of over 30,000 U.S. design projects reported through the AIA 2030 Commitment, examining performance trends by typology, region, climate zone, and fuel source
Extensive Literature Reviews
An extensive literature review situating firm-level findings within the wider industry conversation on building decarbonization.
