Agendi team at New York Build Expo; sustainability and decarbonization are major themes

This week, Agendi’s Avatar Justin Simpson, Colleen Cochran, Rabin Valluri, and Susana Vidal attended the New York Build Expo, the area’s largest construction and design show. Sustainability and decarbonization were major themes of this year’s expo; among the takeaways:

• Calculating your greenhouse gas footprint (incl. building-use, embodied carbon, and business operations) is the first and most crucial step for any emissions reduction efforts
• Decarbonized and/or electrified buildings are viewed by long-term real estate owners/investors as having a better ROI; net-zero commitments and progress add a great deal of perceived value
• Setting Science-based Targets is viewed as a key for ensuring accountability
• Industry collaboration is vital for achieving net-zero
• Local decarbonization regulations will be coming into effect in the near-term future (e.g. Local Law 97 in NYC); regulations in general are helping to spur innovation
• Passive decarbonization strategies (e.g. working with natural conditions without adding to electricity consumption) should be explored before active strategies (e.g. installing heat pumps)

Agendi has enjoyed working with several construction companies, and looks forward to continued collaboration to move the industry towards net-zero!