Published by Inlander: Even before President Joe Biden announced his historic $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan” on March 31, which includes massive infrastructure investments, it was clear that his proposed solutions would include a focus on cleaner buildings.
The built environment — think office buildings, schools, hospitals, homes and businesses — is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions, largely in the form of energy wasted by inefficient appliances, insulation, lighting and more. Between those inefficiencies and the actual construction and building materials (concrete, for example, is very carbon intensive), buildings represent close to 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s partly why McKinstry, a Washington-based national firm that designs, builds, operates and maintains buildings, has focused its work not only on building the next generation of cost-effective, net-zero carbon buildings, but also on proving that public funds can be leveraged to update older buildings and recognize savings.