LS3P 2022 Sustainability Action Plan

LS3P

SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN SPRING 2022

T H O M P E N N E Y C h a i rma n LS3P Bo a rd o f D i recto r s

Sustainability has gone from an inconvenient truth to an existential imperative.

commitment Sustainability is living (and designing) in a way that allows all living things to thrive in perpetuity.

In our commitment to the Southeast and our coastal communities, we create architecture that enriches community through a culture of design excellence, expertise, innovation, and collaborative engagement. Sustainable high-performance buildings, campuses, and cities that embody delight, innovation, and resilience must be the backbone of LS3P’s practice across market sectors.

We are committed to raising the bar for design excellence in our markets and setting an example of environmental

and technological leadership in our industry. We hold ourselves accountable for reducing carbon in buildings and operations, reporting our progress, and leveraging that process to improve our internal project workflows.

All LS3P projects undergo conceptual energy modeling to quantify our impact and inform design decisions.

All LS3P projects should include early conversations about energy, water, carbon, resilience, social and climate equity, and economics that reinforce investment in efficiency.

We are proud to appear regularly on top Green Design Firms lists and are targeting even more transformational achievements to benefit our clients and communities.

looking through different lenses to find a solution

Within this realm of sustainable design, we are called to look through different lenses so that our approaches address needs and benefits for all, limiting unintended consequences and designing better places for future generations. This has given rise to additional LS3P initiatives for Equity, Wellness, and Resilience - not subsections of sustainability but rather perspectives.

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP

INTERNATIONAL VOICE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable and equitable design practices are indeed the benchmark of successful firms, with over

AIA 2030 •

Reaching out to our regional architecture community to

Signatory to COP26 Embodied Carbon Communique

Reporting to AIA 2030 ddx

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Providing feedback to AIA on tools and interface

Commitment, energy use intensity dropping across all building sectors,

Design Futures Council

and globally-focused climate and

USGBC Gold member

LEED certified projects in our portfolio,

increase participation •

460 signatories to the AIA2030

climate equity goals. LS3P has many and one third of our design staff are LEED Accredited. Our design teams and our leadership advocate for design excellence, environmental

Large Firm Sustainability Roundtable

responsibility, social and climate

participation.

justice, and beautiful and prosperous

AIA COTE AG One percent of profits committed to community pro-bono services

communities.

Effective building orientation costs nothing.

Conceptual energy modeling costs nothing.

Specifying nontoxic materials costs nothing.

Integrative design and establishing early building performance goals costs nothing.

Understanding and addressing heat gain and loss costs nothing.

Engaging clients and communities in thoughtful dialogue about unlimited benefits of good design changes everything.

design + approach LS3P practices integrative design with

tools and equipment. We have proven

Living, Office, Multifamily, Urban

the understanding that sustainable

strategies for design excellence. We

Environments, Hospitality, Healthcare,

design is not a checklist, nor is it a

know that a market resistant to high

Civic, Faith Based, and Industrial.

line item that can be separated from a

performance sustainable architecture

project budget.

needs case studies that relate to this

All projects of scale should include

market and these people.

creation or verification of Owners Project Requirements (OPR). This

We are moving toward a practice in which all projects embody sustainable

We know that practicing sustainable

comprehensive tool provides valuable

design strategies regardless of client or

design in this market requires a new

opportunities to address building

budget.

vocabulary and internal best practices

performance and meet the needs and

regardless of project type. In that vein,

vision of our client in a way we cannot

Leading practice in a region lagging

we are exploring opportunities to

achieve without such guidance. It puts

behind much of the country in

prototype and publish transformational

the client’s real needs first and helps

addressing sustainable design, we

regional examples for each of

shape the client conversation while

benefit from lessons learned in other

our primary market sectors: K-12

improving project communication and

places. We have advanced analytical

Education, Higher Education, Senior

reducing liability.

goal setting + evaluations

EXTERNAL •

Win a national COTE award by 2025 adopt Framework for Design

Goals and tasks are set

by Integrate, our internal team dedicated to high performance sustainable design, to support and meet these broader goals. The team meets for an annual retreat to share information, assess status of past goals, and chart a course for future efforts.

Excellence and document project stories •

Target regional COTE and USGBC awards, industry awards, and national competitions.

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Reach out to legacy clients regarding potential resilience, ESG, and energy strategy discussions: create marketing content and form implementation group with Business Development and Sector Leaders

•

Proactively engage in market sector conversations and conferences and offer costeffective case studies and research findings: create transformational prototypes and publish case studies and lessons learned, partnering for amplification

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Actively participate in AIA2030 outreach and feedback: work with AIA and others to improve the tools

PRACTICE •

OPERATIONS

Add services to include

durability, and stability and tune

transformational sustainability

workflow as seamless transition

Organization certification

opportunities beyond ratings

to LEED EB

pending consideration by

systems: create bioclimatic design studio for buildings,

•

public acknowledgment of design

tenant engagement – possible a

excellence

lean studio as well for replicable engineered modular buildings •

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resources •

sustainable design globally: share inspiration via internal media •

Design integratively through

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Owners Project Requirements •

Embed sustainability in workflow processes, to include equity, health, and resilience: update specifications to reflect progress in materials sourcing, toxicity,

guidelines by 2022 •

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Implement green purchasing and disposal guidelines by 2022

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Eliminate use of water bottles and unrecyclable coffee pods in 2022

•

Set sustainability standards for new LS3P leases and office

and in-office training

spaces by 2022: all LS3P offices

Eliminate Red List items from our focus on design materials library

project teams blend offices and

Launch sustainable catering

seasonal reminders, resources,

projects and lunch & learn events:

seamless cross-collaboration: consultants and launch with

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Increase AIA2030 project reporting and targeting to 100%:

learn from what’s happening in

Achieve firmwide Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality by 2025

staff: update and organize intranet

location Design with a global view –

Provide consistent and accessible training opportunities for design

Complete one (or more) net-zero buildings each year per office

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initiate awards, rewards and

facilities management, and

Pursue firmwide JUST

leadership.

Incentivize building performance accomplishments internally:

campuses, municipal plans,

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BIG FAT AUDACIOUS MOONSHOT: Create an LS3P X-Prize. Award for an LS3P person/team who achieves an industry transformative accomplishment – material science? revolutionary global tool? Science/Policy/Design movement?

to be green rated and/or health/

M A R C M A R C H A N T, C E O

It is inherent upon us as architects, interior designers, and planners to apply our knowledge and talent as good stewards of our communities and environment.

As leaders of the design process, our innovative solutions can be catalytic to creating high-performance buildings that enhance our world and uplift the relationship between people and planet.

Clemson University Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business // Clemson, SC

governance + reporting

In 2018, LS3P hired a dedicated

Integrate Knowledge Team is a

firmwide Sustainability Leader as

revolving member group to spread

a part-time position, and in 2021

understanding and implementation

that transitioned to a full-time

of sustainable high-performance

position with broader and deeper

design / health and wellness /

responsibilities. The Sustainability

and biophilia to all the offices and

Leader leads the Integrate

present Integrate content at office

Knowledge Team and affiliated

meetings. They provide the internal

initiatives.

voice of Integrate.

Integrate Advisory Group

Sustainability Happy Hour is

regularly serves on interview

monthly “open office” time for

teams to present with authority

anyone at LS3P to drop in and

and consistency our approach to

informally discuss specific

sustainability, help drive deeper

questions and concepts on

and more frequent technical

sustainable design measures.

analyses in their offices, and help develop outreach and research material aimed at building performance and environmental impact. They provide the external voice of Integrate.

AIA2030 reporting + accountability

When all projects are reported,

Over the next ten years LS3P is

In 2020, 20% of LS3P Project

regardless of database-worthy

targeting 10% annual growth in the

Managers reported data to the

performance, average savings

percentage of projects that meet

AIA2030 ddx. We are targeting 100%

are clearly reduced. We feel it’s

the target. In 2021, we hope to have

participation by 2024.

important to report all projects

roughly 22% of reporting projects

within the following parameters:

meeting the 80% reduction target.

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broadcast to all Project Managers

We actively worked on the project

2030 net-zero carbon target through

seasonally on March 21, June 21,

that reporting year.

strategic initiatives and workflow

September 21, and December 21.

It is a building or interior space that

The project is modeled in Revit or has an MEP-generated model.

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Reminders to upload data will be

By 2030 all projects will meet the

included HVAC and/or lighting.

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The project may be on hold but not abandoned.

improvements.

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Office leaders to see transparent data and actively promote high performance sustainable building design and reporting

LS3P is represented on numerous

internal training + education LS3P continues to support professional accreditation in building performance credentials with full reimbursement for expenses upon successful completion of accreditation. We currently have 100 LEED accredited individuals at either GA or AP levels, and we are targeting 200 people with sustainable design credentials by 2030.

We are GOLD level members of USGBC, providing 150 hours of nocost CE hours for employees.

We subscribe to LEEDuser, offering unlimited guidance for LEED projects as well as an open forum for additional collaboration.

regional and national committees for sustainable design, health and wellness, diversity and equity, and design excellence encouraging and celebrating our designers actively participating in professional organizations.

Internal resources include demonstration videos for energy modeling, daylight analysis, AIA2030 ddx reporting, and more.

We offer templates for integrative design and opportunity charrette planning and execution as well as a comprehensive template for creating Owners Project Requirements (OPR).

LS3P hosts a contingent of summer interns every year, and as part of their experience we introduce them to sustainable design practices through design charrettes, workshops, and research projects.

Images top to bottom: Trident Technical College: Nursing & Science Building; Trident Tech- Nursing & Science Building - North Charleston, SC // CU ICAR Research One - Greenville, SC // DoDEA-SchlPopeHolbrook E-Bragg - Charleston, NC // Wilmington Convention Center Wilmington, NC

Mildred B. Poole Elementary - Ft. Bragg, NC

LS3P’s marketing team spreads a

LS3P advocates for advanced

robust sustainable design message

building and energy codes in the

to our markets and the public. We

Carolinas and Georgia.

have a compelling web presence

outreach, advocacy, + external knowledge

and online portfolio for sustainable

LS3P regularly participates in

high performance building design

community outreach projects

and share Foresight stories, written

that exemplify principles of

by our design teams, via social

sustainability and climate equity.

media and LS3P’s website.

We are implementing a building label and internal narrative that references the AIA Framework for Design Excellence so that we can better share our projects within the context of the national conversation.

operations and outlook

LS3P is assessing JUST

Staff are adopting green office

organization certification

policies incrementally, but this

to demonstrate the kind of

year we are undertaking more

professional atmosphere and

structured standards through

accountability we would like to see

creation of a formal policy for

in our partners and consultants. We

all LS3P locations. Topics to be

hope to complete JUST certification

addressed include:

by the end of 2022.

Our office spaces are in buildings with conventional leases, which makes it difficult to quantify our Scope I and II carbon emissions by tracking energy consumption.

We are opening dialogues with landlords to submeter our spaces

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Green purchasing

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Sustainable catering

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Recycling

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Fair trade sustainable coffee

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Eliminating single use plastic / coffee pods

going forward where possible.

New leases will include energy accountability and measurement capability.

Images left to right: DoDEA-Schl-PopeHolbrook E-Bragg Charleston, NC // Trident Technical College: Nursing & Science Building; Trident TechNursing & Science Building North Charleston, SC

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Bike share / electric scooters for carbon-free errands

ELAINE GALLAGHER ADAMS

AIA, LEED AP BD+C, FITWEL AP

LS3P Sustainability Leader elaineadams@ls3p.com

Every client is motivated by people, planet, and/or profit. Most are moved by one of those, often profit.

That’s okay. We make a compelling business case for efficient, inclusive, and biophilic buildings to significantly reduce environmental impact.

And if we’re lucky, we partner with clients who are driven by two of these, and occasionally transcending status quo with all three.

That’s when we create something extraordinary and replicable.

conclusion Sustainability is living (and designing) in a way that allows all living things to thrive in perpetuity.

We are changing how buildings are designed. We are making a better, healthier place for our children and their children. We are exceeding our clients’ expectations in every way and helping them be part of a global

LS3P accepts and embraces our

solution while improving their own

leadership role as one of the largest

triple bottom line.

architecture firms in the Southeast.

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