 |
| Jacqueline Dompe |
After
a four-year effort to better understand the firm’s impact on the global
environment, Cuningham — which has over 260 employees across six U.S. offices —
is now making a commitment to reduce and offset 100 percent of its Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) emissions from all Scope 1 and 2 sources, plus a large portion of its
Scope 3 emissions.
“Knowing
your company’s emissions profile is critical to being a steward of the
environment,” Cuningham Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Dompe says.
“However, the real work of restoring the earth comes from creating a climate action plan to reduce it. That is why we are so excited to announce Cuningham is officially Net Zero Carbon.
“As we continue to create enduring experiences for a healthy world, going above and beyond this commitment remains our top priority.”
 |
| Paul Hutton |
Per EPA, Scope 1 includes emissions under a company’s direct control, typically including vehicle fuel and fossil fuel consumed at a company’s facilities.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions and
includes primarily purchased electricity for offices and electric vehicles.
Scope 3 is everything else that a company does.
For
the purposes of their study, Cuningham included air travel, travel to meetings
and jobsites, vehicle rental and ride share services, paper use, and electronic
equipment in their Scope 3 emissions.
Hutton clarifies that, while no offset approach is perfect, Cuningham believes Climate Vault does an excellent job providing accurate and defensible offsets.
“At Cuningham, we have a clear and genuine shared belief throughout the firm that design must be regenerative, achieve ecological benefit, and promote social well-being,” Dompe says.
“Therefore, becoming Net Zero Carbon in our internal
operations is done in parallel with our commitment to reduce GHG emissions in
the projects and experiences we create.”
Cuningham, which signed the Architecture 2030 Challenge over a decade ago, is committed to taking all projects to Net Zero Carbon by the year 2030. In 2021, the average GHG reduction in the firm’s projects was 56 percent compared to the baseline year provided by the Architecture 2030 Challenge.
That puts Cuningham in the
top 10 percent of firms belonging to the AIA Large Firm Roundtable.
CONTACT:
Katie
Haga
khaga@thesmartagency.com
