our impact evolveEA 2017 report
who we are evolveEA is a nimble multidisciplinary practice situated at the intersection of sustainability and the built environment. We help individuals, communities, and organizations take strategic action. We look through three lenses of sustainability: People, Process, and Place.
what we do placemaking architecture. We create compelling and thought provoking landscapes, buildings, experiences, and objects to reexamine our relationship to our environment. urban design. We enable communities to create more livable places, systems and economies by addressing ecological, social and economic issues.
sustainability services buildings. We help teams add value to their building projects by identifying and implementing smart environmental strategies. operations. We help building owners and operators optimize performance with attention to user needs and experience.
strategy + engagement strategic planning. We build capacity for organizations to analyze, plan and execute short- and long-term sustainability efforts. social engagement. We engage organizations and individuals in the design of sustainable systems.
www.evolveEA.com
introduction evolveEA is dedicated to Triple Bottom Line success: we measure the impact of our business not only in terms of the economy, but also the environment and social equity. This report is intended to document our impact across all three lines, considering our internal workplace culture, the environmental implications of our business operations, and the impact of our projects. 2017 was a year of renewal, and of deepening and broadening our engagement with communities. In addition to the metrics and highlights you’ll find in this report, we are pleased to share these moments: • We reached hundreds of professionals and community stakeholders through lectures, workshops and education sessions; • Members of our team taught courses at Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, and the University of Pittsburgh; • We moved into our new office space in the center of Pittsburgh’s vibrant East Liberty neighborhood; • Members of our team earned new professional credentials and learned new skills; • We advocated for a better built environment through professional associations and committees focused on building codes and legislation.
evolveEA | Our Impact
CONTENTS I. workplace operations
5
II. project impact: sustainability
13
III. project highlights: placemaking
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evolveEA | Our Impact model: our office on broad street
I. workplace operations greenhouse gas audit carbon neutrality plan frameworks summary
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GREENHOUSE GAS AUDIT
our commitment to carbon neutrality evolve’s mission to advance sustainable systems and solutions for people, processes, and places has driven us to achieve and maintain carbon neutral operations since 2011. Our commitment to ongoing improvement led us to begin measuring our emissions starting with the 2009 base year, with the goal of becoming and remaining a carbon neutral company. This year, we analyzed our 2017 emissions and compared this to our past reports and industry averages to track changes and revisit our efforts.
our methodology We follow the internationally accepted World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, which defines the Three Scopes of GHG emissions and how to calculate them. Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards for companies (see ghgprotocol.org).
how are we doing? 1
scope 1 All direct emissions from the combustion of fuels on site.
scope 2
25.06 mT 3
2017
All indirect emissions from the purchase and transmission of electricity.
2
scope 3 All other indirect emissions that are a result of our operations, including transportation, water usage, and waste.
our operations generated 25.06 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2017
evolveEA | Our Impact
Last year the energy use intensity (EUI) for our office at 6020 Broad Street was 47.37 kBTU/sf — roughly 15% less than the baseline for a comparable building. While at 5530 Penn, our EUI averaged 28.46 kBtu/sf and ranged between 23 and 32 kBTU/sf — roughly 35% less than the baseline.* *The Pittsburgh 2030 District publishes a methodology for calculating a comparable EUI for various building types. Using this method, our baseline for 6020 Broad Street is 55.4 kBTU/sf and for 5530 Penn is 44.01 kBTU/sf.
distribution of carbon emissions scope 1
Natural Gas:
14%
Purchased Electricity:
26.7%
Commuting by Car:
2.3%
scope 2
scope 2 59.3% of total
1
Commuting by Transit: 1.3% Business Travel by Car: 10.5%
3
2
25.06 mT 2017
Business Travel by Air: 44.7% Water Usage:
.1%
Waste: .4%
energy use in metric tonnes CO2 Natural Gas
3.5
Purchased Electricity Commuting by Car Commuting by Transit
6.7 .56 .33
Business Travel by Car
2.63
Business Travel by Air
11.2
Water Usage
.03
Waste
.11
We assessed all of our energy usage— from travel, electricity, and heating to water usage. Compared to previous audits, our operations resulted in significantly higher GHG emissions. Contributing factors to this increase include growth of our team and business, expanding geography of our projects, and our move to a larger office space last year. An area of improvement was in commuting to the office, resulting in a 70% reduction of emissions from car commuting compared to the previous year (a 56% reduction from commuting by transit + car combined).
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CARBON NEUTRALITY PLAN
our carbon neutrality strategy involves three steps: 1 ENERGY REDUCTIONS As evolveEA grows, we are determined to maintain efficient operations and conserve energy wherever possible. Regular GHG audits, along with workplace performance frameworks like B Corp and the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge, prompt us to look for ways improve.
evolveEA | Our Impact
2 CLEAN ENERGY SOURCING We are buying Green-e Certified Renewable Energy for all of our electricity needs.
3 CARBON OFFSET PURCHASES For all other emissions, we purchase third-party verified carbon offsets to zero out our carbon footprint by supporting projects that eliminate greenhouse gases and produce renewable energy. This year we purchased offsets from TerraPass, which works with farms using anaerobic digesters to capture methane as manure breaks down and use it as fuel to produce electricity.
reducing energy use shrinks our carbon footprint Saving energy is the most effective way that we can prevent GHG emissions. There are two categories for ways that we promote using less energy in our company operations: Policy and Engagement. Policies create physical conditions and standards for processes that would otherwise use more energy than needed. These are some of the areas where policies help us avoid emissions: • Equipment and Appliances • Office Closing Protocol • Business Travel Policy • Office Waste • Commuting and Telecommuting
Engagement of our team in energy reductions can boost the effectiveness of our policies and incentivize individual energy-saving behavior. We often participate in programs and events to reduce energy use, such as Daylight Hour, when we turn off artificial lighting for an hour and work by natural daylight. Also, we incentivize greener commuting choices by reimbursing staff for bike commuting expenses, tax-free.
goals and targets for the coming year We continue to take a strategic approach to reducing our emissions, focusing on reducing our energy usage, driving miles, and waste production first, purchasing renewable energy, and offsetting that which we can’t reduce through supporting emission reduction projects.
We have determined that special efforts to reduce emissions from travel should be a high priority.
TARGET: 5% reduction in business travel by car, and 5% reduction in air travel We can also further reduce our electricity use by shutting down computers over weekends.
TARGET: 2% reduction in electricity use
Though emissions from waste make up a tiny percentage of our carbon footprint, we may be able to further cut waste at the source by purchasing supplies that use less packaging, and by conducting waste audits to determine other sources of excess waste.
Finally, we seek to increase employee engagement in our efforts.
GOAL: full staff participation in the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge, and win first place for our category
GOAL: conduct two waste audits per year and identify ways to reduce waste at the source
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FRAMEWORKS SUMMARY
walking our talk Sustainability frameworks have always been a cornerstone of evolveEA’s consulting practice, and since 2013 we have been actively participating in workplace frameworks for mission-driven organizations. These three frameworks help us track our performance related to environmental and social equity goals: B Corp Certification, the JUST Label, and the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge (aka Green Workplace Challenge).
b corp certification evolveEA is one of the first few B Corp Certified companies in the Pittsburgh region. The framework’s Impact Assessment measures an extensive list of policies and practices in our workplace, and every two years we undergo a recertification process. At the start of 2018 we completed our second recertification, with our score summarized in the report card (shown on the opposite page). In 2016 and 2017, evolveEA was recognized as one of B Corp’s “Best For The World” companies because we achieved scores in the top tenth percentile of all certified companies, especially in the Environment category.
just label This year we also had our biannual recertification for the International Living Future Institute program called JUST. evolveEA was one of the first companies internationally to participate in the JUST labelling program, which encourages transparency by helping organizations publish a label summarizing workplace practices and company ethics. Since our first label was published in 2015, our recertification in 2017 showed no change in scoring.
sustainable pittsburgh challenge Our team has shown leadership in the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge, a regional workplace competition, since placing first in the inaugural 2012-2013 competition. We value the program for stimulating deeper engagement within our team as well as networking with other competing organizations of all kinds. In 2018 we hope to reclaim our first place title after coming in second last year!
evolveEA | Our Impact
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evolveEA | Our Impact us steel tower: energy star certified
II. project impact: sustainability green building project metrics
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GREEN BUILDING PROJECT METRICS
since 2004, evolveEA has consulted on hundreds of green building projects
leed certified projects
projects with certification living building challenge 2 leed platinum 8 leed gold 31 leed silver 29 leed certified 7 well certified 1 energy star certified 1
8,236,172
total square feet leed certified since 2004
2017 certifications energy innovation center frick environmental center the yards at three crossings pitt-ohio maintenance bldg. pitt-ohio terminal & office hilton garden inn at tower two sixty va butler health care center carnegie mellon scott hall 2501 smallman st. offices 2555 smallman st. offices us steel tower
75
leed platinum leed platinum leed gold leed gold leed gold leed certified leed silver leed gold leed silver leed gold energy star
over
$1.3 billion
total leed projects construction budgets
leed certification levels platinum gold silver certified
year certified
evolveEA | Our Impact
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
cumulatively, our leed certified projects have saved at least
66.7
107.2
total mbtu/year projected electricity savings
192.8
total mbtu/year projected natural gas energy savings
total kgal/year projected potable water savings
2.75million 17,851 21,026 =
total energy cost savings / year
total tonnes/year avoided carbon emissions
acres of forest per year
source: u.s. e.p.a. greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator
leed rating systems breakdown
NC
52%
CI
29%
CS
9.5%
EB
5.5%
Homes
4%
Healthcare
1.3%
new construction commercial interiors core & shell existing buildings (o&m) leed for homes leed for healthcare (nc) project is leed for healthcare + new construction
756.4
total kW on-site renewables installed since 2004 (solar + wind)
15
evolveEA | Our Impact conceptual design for millvale air quality pocket park, breathe easy plan 2016
III. project highlights: placemaking select milestones & awards
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SELECT MILESTONES & AWARDS
our placemaking work at a glance over
90 1,800 total projects since 2004
community members were engaged through our projects in 2016-2017
select 2017 awards The Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan was recognized by the American Planning Association with two national awards: • environmental planning award • sustainable communities award The plan also received an urban design award from the AIA Quad States (pa+nj+ct+ny) chapter.
our focus food systems
water
air quality
energy mobility
arts + culture
economy affordability
habitat + open space
health + wellbeing
housing
relative intensity of focus aggregated across all 90 placemeking projects by topic area
we rated the intensity of focus for the above topic areas in each project. while some projects are heavily focused on specific topics, some are more comprehensive. the graphic illustrates our total combined intensity compared across each topic area.
evolveEA | Our Impact
The Pittsburgh Citywide Sewershed Evaluation Green Infrastructure Plan was recognized by the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Institute of Architecture with an architectural excellence award in the urban design category.
local project highlights from 2017 GREENWAYS FOR PITTSBURGH 2.0 (2017)
Completion of Greenways for Pittsburgh project,ENGAGEMENT including Policy RESOURCE GUIDE 2.0 COMMUNITY TOOLKIT POLICY GUIDE stewards stewards the City Guide, for Resource Guide, and forCommunity Engagement for Toolkit
triboro ecodistrict
millvale • etna • sharpsburg
Launch of the Triboro Ecodistrict for Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg
Launch of Air Quality Dashboard implementation project from Millvale’s Breathe Easy Plan
Highland Park residential addition and renovation completed
Grand opening of Tazza d’Oro Café at the Millvale Food Hub
Kickoff of Sharpsburg, PA’s first community plan since the 1950s
Soil testing report for Larimer community urban agriculture completed
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OUR WORK IN THE NEWS select headlines about our projects Iconic U.S. Steel Tower Earns Energy Star Certification The Link Between Green Buildings and Better Health
Facility Executive, February 28, 2017
WSRQ Health Check, March 14, 2017
Local Architect Christine Mondor is Upping Pittsburgh’s Design Game Millvale Wins 2 National Awards for Sustainability
Pittsburgh Magazine, April 26, 2017
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 17, 2017
Trails, Lighting, Maintenance: Looking At The Next Phase For Garfield’s Greenspaces WESA, July 19, 2017
Energy Innovation Center achieves LEED Platinum certification PRISM, July 25, 2017
Clean-energy investments pay off for Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2017
Tazza D’Oro Coffee Gets Ready for September Opening of New Millvale Location Good Food Pittsburgh, August 19, 2017
Millvale EcoDistrict Partners Win Award, Join with Etna, Sharpsburg on New Program Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 11, 2017
evolveEA | Our Impact
www.evolveEA.com