Architecture 2030 pushes for more sustainable building materials

on Monday,February 14,2011 21:02

A number of architects create energy-efficient designs for their clients to help save the environment, but one organization is attempting to make it a standard across the board.

Recently, the Architecture 2030 nonprofit announced that it has launched the 2030 Challenge for Products campaign to promote sustainability in the industry, according to Eco Home Magazine. The goal of the campaign is to push manufacturers to expand the life cycle of building materials by 2030 in an effort to reduce the architecture industry's carbon footprint.

"The raw resource extraction, manufacturing, construction, usage, and end-of-life stages of building products each generate significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions," Edward Mazria, Architecture 2030 founder, told the news source. "Slowing the growth rate of GHG emissions and then reversing it is the key to addressing climate change."

More than 22,000 jobs are expected to be added to the architect industry within the next seven years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Energy-efficient changes to the field now may influence future generations of architects to take sustainable business approaches.