37 Greg Kingsley, Ph.D., PE, followed Laurel. Greg is the president and CEO of KL&A Engineers and Builders in Golden, Colorado, a firm of 110 souls, including structural engineers, civil engineers, land surveyors, steel detailers, steel construction managers, and Team Carbon. They offer Embodied Carbon Impact Reports, Structural Life Cycle Assessment, Embodied Carbon education, material salvage and deconstruction consulting, material stockpile management, concrete mix design consulting and mass timber design. Greg stated that KL&A recognizes that embodied carbon is part of our industry’s contribution to world greenhouse gas emissions. It is our business to develop new thinking around structural materials and construction: how they are made, how they are used, and how to dispose them. Greg introduced the basic concepts of embodied carbon accounting and portrayed a broad picture of industry trends, opportunities, and strategies for embodied carbon reduction in structural systems. Studies comparing embodied carbon, construction cost and speed of construction on three functionally equivalent buildings in timber, steel and concrete were analyzed. Greg explained that the decarbonization of buildings requires buy-in from a diverse group of participants. Having a better understanding of the priorities and basic needs of each other should foster a stronger, more effective partnership in undertaking this challenge. Dovetailed into Greg’s presentation was a panel discussion of costs associated with sustainable building by several different professionals. Greg was joined by Christine Marez of the Cumming Group, Brian Bolton of Dick Anderson Construction, Doug Botts of HUB International and Dan Berens of GSG Architecture. Panel members offered their opinion regarding various costs pertaining to sustainable buildings and fielded questions from attendees. Christine and Emma of the Cumming Group were the final speakers of the day. Cumming is an international project and cost management firm and a nationwide provider of energy, sustainability, and environmental consulting services for existing buildings as well as new construction. They provide a solutions-oriented suite of services that specifically address clients’ unique challenges. Christine Marez is Vice President, and Emma Sorrell is Associate Director of the Cumming Group Energy and Sustainability Team. Their vision is to deliver sustainability and climate solutions in the built environment that improve the quality of life for this and future generations. Christine and Emma reinforced the concept of embodied carbon, including its significance to the construction industry and impacts on climate change. They introduced EPDs and discussed how to read and apply the information during design, such as setting maximum GWP thresholds in material specifications. They contextualized the growing focus on embodied carbon, including new regulatory mandates, and discussed how embodied carbon interacts with operational carbon in the total carbon of a building. Christine and Emma provided an introduction to sustainability/net zero planning. They described how lower carbon, high-performance buildings provide ongoing operational savings, and the quickening pace of climate change is only accelerating the return on investment. Christine and Emma explained how new collaborations and partnerships can support projects and solutions that create a more valuable, efficient, and resilient built environment and how architects can increase this value by integrating climate action activities throughout their work. The conference continued Saturday morning with tours by local Architects of the Welcome Market Hall by Dan Stalker, AIA, John C. Schiffer School by Dan Berens, AIA, and the historic Cady Opera House by Levi Van Buggenum, AIA. We want to thank our sponsors and exhibitors for participating in and supporting our event. Conference sponsors Allegion, Pella and Dick Anderson Construction also participated in the presentations. We also thank our conference planning team, Mark Kucera, AIA, Aimee Bolton, AIA, Dale Buckingham, AIA, Ellen Martin, Assoc. AIA, Ansley Mouw, Assoc. AIA and Susan Menghini, Executive Director, for their efforts in bringing a great event to Sheridan for our members. b
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