August 2019 By Paul Dowsett, OAA, FRAIC, LEED AP Principal Architect — Sustainable. Architecture for a Healthy Planet.

Five months. That’s all we have to transform as an industry. Seventeen months if we’re being generous.

And transform we must! There is no option - or planet - B.

Being an architect, I look at my own industry, to determine the state we’re in, and more importantly, to propose how we can, and must, change.

The act of city building would not be possible without the literal city builders, i.e. the entire construction industry – building owners and managers, architects and engineers, general contractors and tradespeople, and material manufacturers and suppliers.

And when it comes to the climate crisis, all of us as “city builders” have an important role to play. And that role must change.

We must cut carbon out of construction – NOW !

“Pollution” from the construction industry looks like this: Massive amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere during the construction of a building (embodied carbon) and during the lifetime operation of a building (operational carbon).

The thing is, we as a group must do our part to mitigate the climate crisis.

These massive carbon emissions must stop, we as an industry must change, and here’s why and how.