91ÊÓƵ

Earlier this week, I came across an entry on the that did a little data analysis on how local projects are keeping up with the green building goals like the

The 2030 Challenge asks the architecture and building communities to strive for carbon-neutrality in projects by 2030, with incremental reductions of fossil fuel usage along the way. Today, a building or major renovation meeting the 2030 challenge‘s standard should have a 60% reduction of fossil fuel energy consumption over average projects of the same type.

The author used carbon calculation data submitted by entrants to the American Institute of Architects Portland Design Competition to glimpse into the carbon-efficiency of new or newly renovated buildings. It’s an interesting sample: though entries into the AIA design competition may not be representative of the industry as a whole, this may be the largest amount of carbon-emissions data for new projects that is available.

The data provide a mixed picture. Some projects are striving to green building goals; two projects achieved carbon-neutral status. And on average, the buildings saw a fossil fuel consumption usage of about 46 percent below the national average. However, a third of the projects submitted for the 2010 awards were built to minimum code requirements, which are at about 25 percent reduction of fossil fuel energy consumption over the national average.

The conclusion? The industry, at least in Portland, is moving toward greener buildings – but it’s not doing so much faster than code requires.