Event Description

The Decarbonization Conference for the Built Environment will be an information and idea exchange, between stakeholders in the built environment industry, concerning the timely and important topic of reducing carbon emissions from buildings.  The goal is to discuss the design, construction, ownership, and operation of facilities targeted for reduced or neutral impact on the environment with respect to carbon footprint.  A primary objective of the conference is to enhance the knowledge base in North America on decarbonization efforts.

The conference will focus on educating attendees on methods to decrease carbon emissions, both embodied and operational, in order to reduce the impact of buildings on the climate crises. The conference program will address current and future governmental policies and regulations for which engineers, architects, owners and operators need to be aware of to address environmentally-responsible building requirements.

“The goal of this conference is to bring persons who work in all aspects of building design, construction, operation, ownership and management into the same room to address how the building industry as a whole can improve the impact buildings have on the global climate crises,” said ASHRAE President-Elect Ginger Scoggins. “Since building design, construction and operation contribute close to 40% of total global emissions of carbon, it is imperative that we all work together to develop a path forward to address our impact”.

“The built environment generates nearly 40 percent of CO2 emissions annually with approximately 27 percent attributed to building operations, placing significant responsibility for reducing operational and embodied carbon emissions on the built environment industry. We must take the lead in ensuring that what we design, construct, operate and manage is achieved thoughtfully, strategically, collaboratively. Working together to reduce or reverse the harmful impacts of our buildings is empowering, but we need direction on how to go about it. ASHRAE’s Decarbonization Conference will help us integrate our perspectives to help our industry take meaningful action.” - Laurie A. Gilmer, P.E., CFM, FMP, SFP, LEED AP, Chair, IFMA’s Global Board of Directors