NEW COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT

The Sustainable Design Committee (SDC) was formed in the Spring of 2023 and is actively seeking new members. Join us on May 9th, 2023 at the SEAO monthly meeting to hear more about the committee and sustainability in structural engineering.

Reach out to Jo Ann Offill (joffill@mcknze.com) for more information.

 

Mission

Promote sustainable design practices within the structural engineering profession through leadership, advocacy, outreach, and education.

Vision

The structural engineering community is facing a watershed moment.  Never has there been such a focus on structural engineers as being part of the solution to reducing humankind’s impact on the environment.  For years the green building focus has been on operational emissions, but recently, the building community made a shift and turned their attention to embodied emissions. Scientists believe that the time between 2020 and 2050 is a critical period in which global emissions must peak and then go to zero.  Since the majority of embodied emissions are due to the materials structural engineers specify, our community will be key to developing pathways to significantly reduce embodied emissions.

Advocacy

There is a large disparity of awareness and action regarding sustainable design within the structural engineering community. To bridge this gap, the Sustainable Design Committee aims to promote sustainable design through the following advocacy efforts.

  • Advocate for the inclusion of sustainable design within the practice of structural engineering
  • Advocate for and highlight the pivotal role of structural engineers in sustainable design
  • Advocate for the interests of the structural engineering community with respect to policy and code development

Outreach and Education

The committee will work closely with the NCSEA Sustainable Design Committee as well as other local SEA Member Organizations and complementary organizations such as the SEI Sustainability Committee to share and disseminate educational material related to sustainable design, best practices, local and Federal policy, and sustainable initiatives. As the policy landscape continues to evolve, the committee will advocate for the structural engineering community with respect to local policy and will provide resources to engineers related to policy updates and local markets.