April 2023
Firm Sustainability Initiatives
Keast & Hood joined the SE 2050 Commitment in February of 2021. As one of the first signatory firms to join the commitment, we want to highlight the importance of sustainability to us. The SE 2050 Commitment is working towards net zero embodied carbon structural systems by the year 2050. Keast & Hood was one of the first 25 firms to join the commitment, there are now more than 100 signatory firms. Every year we produce an ECAP detailing how we are fulfilling our commitment, our 2022 ECAP included the following:
Education - Internal and external information transfer not just for our staff but for clients, product suppliers, and owners.
Reporting - Measuring, tracking and sharing embodied carbon data. We’re utilizing Beacon and Tally add-ins to Revit to complete calculations on embodied carbon in our projects at major milestones.
Embodied Carbon Reduction Strategies - Keast & Hood’s strategy includes several areas of focus: early project conversations, collaboration with suppliers, specification updates, and a focus on reuse. Keast & Hood’s sustainability committee is rolling out internal resources to enable our team to enable our team to engage with embodied carbon conversations early in the design process. Our Bay Study spreadsheet is an internal resource used to quickly present the GWP of three different framing materials for a project. Looking at concrete, steel, and wood options. This resource is a great tool to facilitate conversations between owners and architects on the differences of embodied carbon between proposed systems.
Advocacy - As part of our work, we have been reaching out to local manufacturers to encourage development of EPD’s and discuss embodied carbon requirements as we add them to our specifications. Members of the Keast & Hood Sustainability Committee have joined local chapters of national organizations in creating and launching sustainability subcommittees. These subcommittees have been actively advocating for embodied carbon requirements on public projects within the City of Philadelphia. We hope to use our knowledge to encourage sustainable construction and design practices.
At Keast & Hood we are calling upon our peers and colleagues to join us in working towards net-zero projects. Change is coming and we need to be a part of it!