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2023 Roundup
We Became An Early Adopter of the WELL Equity Rating
In line with our mission as a B Corp and MA Benefit Corporation, as well as our status as an IWBI Member Organization, The Green Engineer became one of the Early Adopters of the WELL Equity Rating in 2022. In 2023, we have continued to pursue this standard.
The WELL Equity Rating is designed "to help organizations act on their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals, and improve company culture and employee health."
Photo: Brockton DUA, © William Horne Project Owner: DCAMM Architect: Jones Architecture
23 LEED Certified Projects and 1 WELL v1 Certified Multifamily Residential Project in 2023
- A total of 4,114,794 SF of LEED certified construction in 2023.
- 22 of these projects were under the LEED v4 rating.
Photo: Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences, © Boston University
Project Owner: Boston University Architect: KPMB Architects
2 Platinum, 15 Gold, 6 Silver and 1 LEED Certified Projects in 2023.
The Green Engineer provided sustainable design consulting on 23 buildings that achieved LEED certification: 20 in MA, 1 in Connecticut, 1 in New Hampshire, and 1 in Ohio.
Photo: Brockton DUA, © William Horne Project Owner: DCAMM Architect: Jones Architecture
1 WELL v1 Multifamily Residential Pilot Certified Project
- Park 151 at Cambridge Crossing achieved WELL Certified Gold under the WELL v1 Multifamily Residential Pilot Building Standard.
- This is our first WELL certified residential project.
160,002 MMBTU/yr saved
- This is the combined total energy savings from our LEED certified projects in 2023.
- Average Energy Use Savings: 40.04%
- This is enough energy to power 1067 homes for one year.
Photo: Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences, © Boston University
Project Owner: Boston University Architect: KPMB Architects
4,736,293 gallons/yr saved
- This is the combined total water use savings from our LEED certified projects in 2023.
- Average Water Use Reduction: 35.64%
- Enough to provide an 8 oz glass of water to a quarter of the population of the US.
Photo: Maria E. Hastings Elementary School, © Peter Vanderwarker Project Owner: Town of Lexington Architect: DiNisco Design
13,879 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided annually in operational carbon emissions
- This is 7,262 metric tons from electricity savings, and 6,617 metric tons from natural gas savings from our LEED certified projects in 2023.
- This is equivalent to the emissions from 3088 gas-powered passenger vehicles driven in one year.
Photo: Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences, © Boston University
Project Owner: Boston University Architect: KPMB Architects
1373 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided annually in embodied carbon emissions.
- This is equivalent to the emissions from 299 gas-powered vehicles driven in one year, or equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 54,291 trees.
Photo: Brockton DUA, © William Horne Project Owner: DCAMM Architect: Jones Architecture
51,300 tons of waste diverted & 73.68% recyling rate average.
- From our LEED-certified projects in 2023.
- This equates to approximately 2 Statues of Liberty. Yes, that's right 2.
Photo: Bristol Agricultural High School © Ed Wonsek Project Owner: Bristol Agricultural High School Architect: HMFH Architects
$ 3,734,473 in energy cost savings/yr
- This is the combined total energy cost savings from our LEED certified projects in 2023.
- Average Energy Cost Savings: 34.08%
Photo: Brockton DUA, © William Horne Project Owner: DCAMM Architect: Jones Architecture
This year we selected 6 nonprofits to receive donations from our 2023 net profits.
In 2023, we donated $18,000 from our net profits to 6 charitable organizations selected by our staff. These organizations work to protect our environment and to advance social equity within our society. Below we've highlighted these six organizations.
Photo: Bristol Agricultural High School , © Ed Wonsek Project Owner: Bristol Agricultural High School Architect: HMFH Architects
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.
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.
350.org
350.org is an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all. The organization works to transition to a new, just clean energy economy by supporting community-led energy solutions.
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.
Concord Prison Outreach
Concord Prison Outreach is a 501(c)(3) organization composed of a coalition of individuals and faith communities committed to helping people who are incarcerated build better lives for themselves and their families. CPO works cooperatively with the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), offering educational programs that focus on skill-building and personal growth, essentials to help support people in prison to achieve success while incarcerated or post-incarceration. Hundreds of individuals and nearly forty faith communities join CPO in its mission to offer high-quality, transformative programs that focus on education, personal growth, and increased opportunity for incarcerated people and their families.
ACE Mentor Program
The ACE Mentor Program of America, founded in 1994, is a no-cost after-school program that prioritizes workforce development for high school students by connecting them with experts from the design and construction industry. Their mission is to engage, excite, and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and construction through mentoring and continued support for their advancement into the industry. One of their goals is to assist and guide students by providing scholarships, internships, and mentoring as they pursue career pathways into the AEC industry.
1 Finalist to the 2023 Green Building of the Year Award
- The Maria Hastings Elementary School was shortlisted as 1 of the 3 finalists to the Green Building of the Year 2023 Award.
- The Norwell Public Library was a recipient of the prestigious 2023 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum.
Photo: Maria E. Hastings Elementary School, © Peter Vanderwarker
Project Owner: Town of Lexington Architect: DiNisco Design
We continue our commitment towards Anti-Racism.
This year we have continued our commitment, efforts, and initiatives to combat social inequity and systemic racism in our society and industry. A significant focus in 2023 included initiatives to expand educational pathways for BIPOC students to explore and pursue a career in the AEC industry.
Last year, we developed a scholarship for high school students enrolled in the Metco program at Wellesley High School to be able to participate in pre-college, summer AEC-centered programs.
In support of our efforts, we organized an in-person meeting with BIPOC high school students at Wellesley High School to present this scholarship, and introduce the students to potential career paths in sustainability in the AEC sector.
More recently, we met with BIPOC high school juniors at Concord Carlisle High School to tour the Net Zero Energy Walden Pond Visitor Center in Concord, MA. After the tour, we spoke with the students about how sustainability in the built environment is directly intertwined with the well-being of BIPOC communities. We also addressed questions from the students and shared our own professional paths in the AEC field, highlighting the wide range of potential trajectories that can lead to a career in sustainability.
We thank the guidance counselors and staff at Concord Carlisle High School, Metco Concord Carlisle, and Metco Wellesley for their tremendous support for our efforts.