The climate provisions in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are substantial. The sustainable design community’s advocacy efforts and demonstrated projects promoting efficient, low carbon, resilient and healthy buildings has finally manifested into U.S. policy creating new climate funding resources and extending existing programs. For a quick understanding of IRA’s climate provisions, we like this USGBC summary.
At Glumac, we helped design the largest net zero government office in California, demonstrated the sustainable ROI in developer lead projects in Texas, and improved the resilience of the Oregon State government. And, there is a rise in climate action from campuses and governments as our work on building and transportation decarbonization and clean energy plans continues to grow. Looking ahead, we are anxious to see how this new climate funding spurs broader market uptake especially at scale with the larger building portfolio owners.
Glumac’s Building Sciences Group, made up of our sustainability, energy, and commissioning experts, is leading the charge informing our MEP staff and our clients on the benefits of the new legislation. Looking ahead, we’re confident that the rapidly growing number of requests we are receiving for efficient and low carbon buildings, new and existing, will continue.
The bill is meant to put the U.S. on the path to reduce GHG’s 40% by 2030 and make energy efficiency and clean energy increasingly more cost effective year after year. What’s more, the IRA will undoubtedly sweeten the ROI for smart, sustainable buildings. We are thrilled by this massive boost in federal support and we have a renewed sense of purpose and pride in the work we do alongside our client owners, developers, and design partners. Let’s keep going!