This Earth Month, KPF audited its projects’ energy use and evaluated recently completed buildings for material health and sustainability.
In 2019, KPF signed the AIA 2030 Commitment recognizing that buildings account for a large percentage of global CO2 emissions, and that architects have a role to play in reducing it. Participating firms—including 1350+ to-date in the United States—commit to tracking and reporting their project’ energy performance annually, using data-driven design to progressively reduce carbon emissions across their portfolios.
This year, our 7th year of annual reporting to AIA, KPF reported data for 259 buildings across 127 projects totaling over 186 million square feet, including Panorama St. Paul’s, One North Quay, and Waterline. KPF’s projects achieved a net projected energy use intensity (pEUI) reduction of 50%, and around half of buildings in our portfolio had energy models. In keeping with the increased industry-wide emphasis on embodied carbon reduction, KPF submitted embodied carbon data for 22% of our projects, continuing to grow the share of our portfolio for which we have reliable embodied carbon data year over year.
In 2024, KPF joined the AIA Materials Pledge alongside 80+ firms committed to transforming the materials industry through more intentional specification practices. The pledge calls on firms to prefer products and approaches that support human health, social health and equity, ecosystem health, climate health, and a circular economy—recognizing that the carbon embodied in building materials accounts for up to 12% of the earth’s total carbon emissions. Firms report projects annually, with each project eligible to be submitted only once, reflecting the pledge’s emphasis on meaningful, project-level impact.
This year, KPF reported 4 projects, bringing the firm’s total to 8 submissions across the program’s three-year history. Among them, 105 Victoria Street in London reflects the full range of the pledge’s priorities. The project aims to recycle or reuse over 99% of existing building materials and is the first in the UK to adopt Earth Friendly Concrete across the entire superstructure, setting a new benchmark for low-carbon commercial development. Nearly 30,000 square feet of green roofs, terraces, living green walls, an urban farm, and a 200-meter rooftop walking track address ecosystem and community health while a high-performing façade optimized for natural ventilation supports the project’s net-zero operational energy target.
KPF’s participation in both programs reflects the firm’s broader commitment to decarbonizing the built environment, from the energy performance of buildings in operation to the materials that make them.
