Large coalition joins Leadership by Design to advocate for nation's highest sustainalbe design standard for state-funded buildings
By Tom Pene, AIA
To those of you from all over the state who made the substantial effort to come to Salem to be a part of Leadership by Design and to support AIA Oregon's effort to pass sustainable design legislation, a heartfelt thank you!
April 12 was a great day to be an architect in Oregon. On that day, a coalition of 135 architects, landscape architects, engineers, building owners, sustainable business owners, sustainable design consultants, students and professors from throughout the state traveled to Salem to support the passage of Senate Bill 576 proposed by AIA Oregon.
SB 576 was motivated by the desire of our profession to take our share of responsibility for the huge carbon emissions and contribution to global warming that our buildings create. If passed, the bill will set the highest sustainable design standard in the nation for state-funded buildings. Oregon can already boast having the most knowledgeable and motivated public and private clients in the nation; the best incentive programs from utility companies; the best tax credit programs; the most experienced sustainable design professionals and contractors; and the best examples of successfully built work in the nation.
This bill would add one more visible symbol to secure Oregon's reputation as the national and international leader in sustainable design.
Leadership in sustainable design is both good for our environment and our profession. Our national leadership enhances the reputation and demand for the services of Oregon architects and other sustainable services and the products of our sustainable industries. Oregon architectural firms already attract the best young professionals and architecture school graduates from all over the nation because of our reputation as leaders in sustainable design, and Oregon architects practice nationally and internationally because of their sustainable design expertise. While individual energy savings from a handful of state buildings may not make a noticeable difference in the world's carbon production, the continuing innovations generated from the work done in Oregon will be emulated by designers throughout the nation and beyond in China, India, and other places experiencing explosive development.
AIA Oregon has had advocacy days during every legislative session in recent memory and the bills we proposed or supported have been mostly about the practice of architecture. This continues to be an important focus for the AIAO board. Increasingly, however, the "special interests" of our profession are also pressing issues of the nation and the world. What made Leadership by Design so special was that it marked a beginning for Oregon architects to make their voice heard on a major public policy issue. While participation in previous advocacy days in Salem attracted 30 or 40 participants, the importance of sustainable design to our members and the strong organizational efforts by AIA resulted in an overwhelming turnout. The average age of participants was also much younger, reflecting the importance of this issue to the upcoming generations of young architects.
For those who came to Salem, it was a unique opportunity to see the legislative process in action and to add the voice of our profession to the many voices that walk the halls of the Legislature throughout the session. On April 12, Oregon architects and our professional colleagues were the most visible "special interest group" at the capitol. As constituents, we met directly with our senators and representatives to explain the merits of our legislation and the commitment of our profession to address problems of energy conservation and climate change. Thanks to Senate Environment and Natural Resources Chairman Sen. Brad Avakian, the committee hearing for our bill was also scheduled for that day and the hearing room was packed with supporters and those eager to testify on behalf of our proposed legislation. That's not to say that we didn't face strong opposition to our bill, primarily from the timber industry, which expressed concerns about a requirement in the legislation for certified wood products.
On the bus ride back to Portland from Salem (biodiesel powered, of course), I was struck not only by the sense of accomplishment of those who participated, but also by an overwhelming excitement and enthusiasm to continue work on getting our legislation successfully passed. The momentum from that day has continued forward to shape a final bill that has now been successfully passed from the Senate Committee to the floor of the Senate for an upcoming vote. Cindy Robert is optimistic that our bill will be passed in the House of Representatives for a hearing in the House Energy and Environment Committee, chaired by Rep. Jackie Dingfelder. There's still a long road ahead and the clock is ticking before the end of the session in mid-June. Our greatest danger is that the packed agenda at the capitol will result in our bill not getting a hearing or vote in the House before the end of the session. On the other hand, there is interest, awareness and support for our bill based on the strong showing by our profession on April 12 and the continued follow-up since.
On April 11, the day before Leadership by Design and our hearing of SB 576 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a federal court in Burlington, Vt., was hearing a court case involving California, Oregon and nine other states that were defending their right to impose higher fuel economy standards for automobiles. The headline in The Oregonian on April 12 was, "Emission Rules Too Big a Leap, GM says". On that same day, 135 architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, students and professors brought a completely different message to the Oregon Legislature: that we're ready, willing and capable of doing more for our environment. Leadership by Design tapped into that uniquely Oregon "can do" attitude that makes us believe that anything is possible. Let's see if we can keep the momentum from April 12 moving.