Greetings to all of the AEC SD Leaders (a.k.a. the Green Gurus)!
Over the last two months, the 32-member Build-Back-Better (BBB) letter working group has developed a robust list of first 100-days, built-environment-focused executive actions for the Biden administration to consider. Kara Kempski, the AIA’s Director of Federal Relations, has reviewed and collaborated on the final draft, and feels that the letter’s proposals are well in-sync with the AIA’s policies and positions, and she is enthusiastic about a group such as ours sending this letter.
A copy of the final draft for your review is at this [LINK].
Now we need all of your help – WE NEED FIRMS TO SIGN-ON, THIS WEEK!
Our collective groups are now comprised of over 200 member firms, it would be FANTASTIC to get most, if not all firms to sign on. Our membership is a prominent and well-respected cross section of our industry. Together, our collective voices have leverage.
We know that getting firms to sign-off on such communiques can sometimes be tricky, but we ask you to please try to secure your firm’s permission to sign on. After careful review of the letter, it is our opinion that it does not contain the kind of challenging phrasing and or required commitments that some advocacy letters ask of our industry(s). Instead we believe it is a fairly comprehensive list of climate-change focused best practices where the Federal government can provide meaningful industry leadership. The measures proposed in the letter seek a model of good Federal governance that is centered on climate change and equity, core priorities for our profession.
Here are some potential talking points that you might use in your ask of your firm’s leadership:
- The proposed actions are in keeping with the AIA’s policies and practices, and with the Framework for Design Excellence.
- A number of the proposals would benefit our industries by expanding tax policy incentives (e.g. 179D), tax credits and block grants, and also expand federally generated data sets that help us provide best-value to our clients (e.g. flood maps, CBECS, etc.)
- There are no troubling phrases like: “The signatory firms have agreed that they will ‘always’ or ‘never’ do (fill in the blank)”
- The proposed actions are largely focused on code changes, and on how the Federal government will engage in its own projects in the built environment, with the idea that the government, with its vast buildings and infrastructure portfolio, is well-placed to lead in industry innovations. Firms doing work with the Federal government would be expected to meet the policy proposals, and would be fairly compensated for their leading-edge efforts. Many of our firms have direct experience with this from the time of the great recession and the imposition of ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act).
- Our profession is broadly implicated in the effects of the built environment on climate change, and we are helped in reducing these effects when federal practices and policies lead the way in the regulatory changes needed for substantive change in our industry’s practices.
- We know that the letter will be reviewed by top White House staff based on a direct invitation by David Hayes to review it.
- Biden’s recent E.O.’s do a lot for climate but have yet to be specific about the built environment, leaving a perfect opportunity for our AEC industry to step up.
If you have any questions, or find an element of the letter that is proving to be a barrier for your firm to sign on, please reach out to any/all of the three of us and we will work to remedy the challenge.
We hope to reach a “critical mass” of signatories (hopefully everyone!) by the end of this week, at which point we will send the letter. Please reply to this message if your firm is agreeing to sign on. All signatory firms will be listed in alphabetical order.
Best regards,
Clark Brockman (SERA) – clarkb@seradesign.com
Chris Hellstern (Miller Hull) - chellstern@MillerHull.com
Nadav Malin (Building Green) - nadav@BuildingGreen.com
