Going green with building certifications like LEED, WELL, and Energy Star can be a significant step towards reaching net zero carbon emission goals, but ESD, now Stantec Energy Engineer Matthew Zweibruck says don’t stop there. (Learn more about the FacilitiesNet summit.)
It has been a busy year for the net zero carbon community, as summarized in a recent article published in The Mann Report written by ESD Practice Leader for Commissioning and Energy+Eco Saagar Patel.
In his “Net Zero Outlook,” featured in the September issue of the online magazine, Patel recaps various projects and progress reports on the effort to fight global warming through decarbonization. According to Patel, there are a number of meaningful actions businesses can take to create net zero plans, including:
- Tackling energy reduction (i.e., operational carbon) first, before investing in offsets
- Addressing embodied carbon when constructing new real estate
- Reviewing opportunities to electrify (i.e., decarbonize) equipment when performing end-of-life system replacements
- Capitalizing on existing local utility incentives and federal tax programs to help fund initiatives
Patel’s article also discusses progress being made to standardize and define net zero guiding principles and benchmarks in an effort to develop specific, actionable rules and guidelines.
As practice leader for Commissioning and Energy+Eco teams, Saagar Patel is an outspoken advocate for energy efficiency and sustainability and shares his expertise with industry professionals to further ESD’s mission to Improve Society Through the Built Environment.
Contact ESD’s experts for more information on how ESD can help with energy efficiency and other carbon reduction planning.
