In our ongoing commitment to advance the building industry through sustainable practice, HGA is proud to announce that the firm is now a signatory of the MEP 2040 Commitment.
Sponsored by the Carbon Leadership Forum, MEP 2040 challenges all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems engineers to decarbonize system designs, targeting net zero operational carbon by 2030 and net zero embodied carbon by 2040.
“Taking significant steps toward carbon reduction is a goal of HGA, as well as many of our clients,” said Ed Clements, PE, Mechanical Engineering Practice Leader at HGA. “This commitment further prepares our MEP leadership to contribute to the advancement of the industry’s decarbonization.”
By signing the Commitment, HGA agrees to meet four benchmarks, including:
- Establish a company plan to reduce operational and embodied carbon across MEP systems on all projects, targeting zero by 2040.
- Specify low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Request Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in project specifications for MEP system components.
- Participate in quarterly MEP 2040 Forum discussions to share lessons learned.
“From a business perspective, this is HGA practicing what we preach,” said Cory Powers, Engineering Market Sector Leader. “We have long promoted a holistic approach to meeting our clients design goals. MEP 2040 taps into our core values integrating sustainability, research, and equity in all business operations and project workflows to benefit our clients, team members, colleagues, and communities. This is one of many commitments we have made to proactively address our ability to impact carbon reduction.”
Carbon Benchmarks
The building industry represents a sizable portion of carbon emission, necessitating industry-wide processes to measure carbon reduction.
According to MEP 2040, operational energy use contributes approximately 30 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, while embodied carbon—generated from extracting, manufacturing, and transporting construction materials—adds approximately 10 percent.
HGA’s design portfolio includes higher education, science + technology, healthcare, workplaces, and mixed-use projects. To pave a pathway towards net zero, HGA is a signatory of several sustainability commitments, including SE 2050, AIA 2030 Commitment, AIA Materials Pledge, and our own internal Carbon Neutrality Goals.
About MEP 2040
The Carbon Leadership Forum, an organization within the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, is dedicated to transforming the building sector to reduce embodied carbon in building materials and construction. The Carbon Leadership Forum issued the Challenge in Fall 2021. A group of MEP leaders responded to the Challenge and established a Commitment from architecture, engineering, and construction firms nationally.
For more information, visit MEP 2040.