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2022 Roundup
Recognized as a Best for the World B Corp for the Environment & for Workers
- We earned recognition across 2 categories of the 2022 B Corp Impact Assessment, including Best for Environment, and Best for Workers.
- The Green Engineer scored 121.7 out of 200 as our 2022 Overall B Impact Score. (The median score for ordinary businesses is 50.9.)
- This is the 6th year in a row that we have been named a Best for the World B Corp for the Environment, and 4th consecutive year that we have been named a Best for the World B Corp for Workers.
19 LEED Certified Buildings in 2022
- The Green Engineer provided sustainable design consulting on 19 buildings that achieved LEED certification, 18 in MA, and 1 in Connecticut.
Photo: The Hub on Causeway, © Bret Oswald, Owner: BXP
2 Platinum, 10 Gold, 7 Silver Certified LEED Projects in 2022
- A total of 4,645,716 SF of LEED-certified construction in 2022.
- 14 of these projects were under the LEED v4 rating.
Photo: The Hub on Causeway, © Bret Oswald, Owner: BXP
1 WELL v2 Platinum Lab and 1 Fitwell Certified Project in 2022
- The Horizon building at EMD Serono's Research & Develoment Hub achieved WELL v2 Platinum Certification.
- 1 of only 3 WELL buildings to reach Platinum in Massachusetts.
- The 105 by Breakthrough is our first Fitwel Certified project.
Photo: Horizon Building at EMD Serono R&D Hub, © Andy Caufield, Architect: PM Group
136,269 MMBTU/yr saved
- This is the combined total energy savings from our LEED certified projects in 2022.
- Average Energy Use Savings: 28.29%
- This is enough energy to power 5,511 homes for one year.
Photo: DUA Brockton, © William Horne, Architect: Jones Architecture
11,721,078 gallons/yr saved
- This is the combined total water use savings from our LEED certified projects in 2022.
- Average Water Use Reduction: 35.68%
- Enough to provide a glass of water for more than half the population of the US.
Photo: Horizon Building at EMD Serono R&D Hub, © Andy Caufield, Architect: PM Group
8,670 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided annually in operational carbon emissions
- This is 2,018 metric tons from electricity savings, and 6,653 metric tons from natural gas savings from our LEED certified projects in 2022.
- This is enough to power 1092 homes for one year.
Photo: Norwell Public Library, © Chuck Choi Architectural Photography, Architect: Oudens Ello Architecture
176,977 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided annually in embodied carbon emissions.
- This is equivalent to the emissions from 38,133 gas-powered vehicles driven in one year.
Photo: Yale University Humanities Quadrangle, © Peter Vanderwarker, Architect: Annum Architects
46,913 tons of waste diverted & 82.5% recyling rate average.
- From our LEED certified projects in 2022.
- This is equivalent to 135,578 metric tons of carbon.
Photo: Fan Pier Parcel E, © Robert Benson Photography, Architect: Elkus Manfredi Architects
$2,224,237 in energy cost savings/yr
- This is the combined total energy cost savings from our LEED certified projects in 2022.
- Average Energy Cost Savings: 25.15%
Photo: Norwell Public Library, © Chuck Choi Architectural Photography, Architect: Oudens Ello Architecture
This year we selected 6 nonprofits to receive donations from our 2022 net profits.
- In 2022, we donated $10,000 from our net profits to 6 charitable organizations selected by our staff. The organizations work to protect our environment and/or advance social equity within our society. Below we've highlighted these six organizations.
Photo: Norwell Public Library, © Chuck Choi Architectural Photography, Architect: Oudens Ello Architecture
Project Drawdown
Project Drawdown® is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “drawdown”— the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. This organization has emerged as a leading resource for information and insight about climate solutions. They "conduct rigorous review and assessment of climate solutions, creating compelling and human communication across media, and partnering with efforts to accelerate climate solutions globally." Project Drawdown's programs are working to advance climate solutions across the globe.
Conservation Law Foundation
The Conservation Law Foundation uses the law & science to preserve natural resources in New England. CLF helps to create environmental policy and advocates vigorously to pressure state and federal agencies to enforce these protective measures. A recent notable campaign is their fight to establish protective measures and raise awareness of the plight of the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale against resistance from the North Atlantic lobster industry.
NESEA
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) helps high-performance building and energy efficiency professionals improve their practices by learning from and networking with one another. Founded in 1975, NESEA is today the region's leading 501(c)(3) membership organization promoting sustainable energy practices in the built environment. NESEA advances sustainability practices in the built environment by cultivating a cross-disciplinary community where practitioners are encouraged to share, collaborate and learn.
Black Girl Ventures
Black Girl Ventures' mission is to provide Black/Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.They fund and scale tech-enabled, revenue-generating businesses (under $1M) founded by people who identify as Black/Brown and woman. They promote civic engagement and hyperlocal infrastructure at the intersection of business support services, supplier diversity, social and financial capital. As part of this, they also organize pitch competitions and competitive fund generation techniques for entrepreneurs.
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Using the power of law, narrative, research, and people, they defend and advance the dignity and citizenship of Black people in America. Their work encompasses a broad spectrum of issues ranging from economic justice, criminal justice, education, to political participation and voting rights.
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises—including the climate crisis—to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. The IRC annually compiles a list of the 20 humanitarian crises expected to deteriorate the most over the next year. For the past decade, this report has helped them determine where to focus their emergency services and lifesaving support to have the greatest impact. The IRC is now at work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas.
Bristol Agricultural High School Wins 2022 BE+ Green Building of the Year
Several of our projects were recognized at the Built Environment Plus 2022 Green Building Showcase this year, including the top prize, the Green Building of the Year Award.
- The Bristol Agricultural High School won the Green Building of the Year award;
- The Brockton DUA / "Mass Timber for Mass Workers at The C. Gerald Lucey Building" won the Sustainable Construction Innovation Award;
- The "Circling Back After Getting the Plaque" Analysis for Schools & Libraries won the Sustainable Building Operations Award;
- The Hub on Causeway was shortlisted as 1 of the 3 finalists to the Green Building of the Year Award.
- The Yale University Humanities Quadrangle won the AIA CT Design Award for Excellence in the Commercial/Industrial/Educational/Multi-Family Residential Category.
- Boston Children's Brookline won the BSA 2022 Design Awards in the Healthcare Facilities category.
Photo: Bristol Agricultural High School, © Ed Wonsek Art Works, Inc., Architect: HMFH Architects
We continue our commitment towards Anti-Racism. This year we funded a new scholarship we are working to establish in 2023 for BIPOC students.
In 2022, we have continued to take concrete measures and action to combat systemic racism in our industry and society.
Together with our partners at Friends of Wellesley METCO Inc., we are collaborating on the development of a renewable, academic scholarship which will initially be available to BIPOC high school students that are entering college in the Fall of 2023. The scholarship is for BIPOC high school seniors who are interested in pursuing careers in an AEC sustainable design or related field. We have donated $10,000 to fund this new scholarship in 2022.
Our objective is to actively lead the AEC industry in creating equitable opportunities to those historically underrepresented in the sustainability and design field. By raising awareness and providing assistance for higher educational paths into the sustainability field, we hope to expand the opportunities available to young students of color. In turn, this will help foster the inclusive and diverse professional field we want all to be a part of.
Through our end of year charitable giving polls, over the past two years, our staff has voted to support a wide array of organizations in need, including: the Indigenous Environmental Network, Black Girl Ventures, the Bail Project, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Internally, we have held company retreats to discuss and discover implicit biases and JEDI issues. We have a company JEDI Committee that meets regularly to plan anti-racism and JEDI initiatives. We've started assessing incoming RFPs, projects and work for their social equity and inclusion. We have even turned down somework and supported other projects with reduced fees and/or pro bono services to this end. We’re also educating ourselves on how best to have this conversation with all our clients, and engaging in introducing the LEED social impact checklist to project teams.
We will continue to take steps to combat systemic racism in 2023.