Carbon Footprint - architeria.eu

THE RIBA CUTS ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT


The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) today announces that it has reduced the carbon footprint
of its London HQ building by almost 60 per cent, cutting 420 tonnes of its annual CO2 emissions from
the 2006 level.

As part of its commitment to combating climate change, the Institute has recently implemented a number
of environmentally friendly measures intended to cut carbon emissions. These include only using energy
from renewable sources at our HQ, by switching to electricity provider Greenenergy UK and introducing
a new process which enables 100 per cent of all cardboard used to be recycled. The RIBA already recycles
over 1.6 tonnes of waste paper per year as well as glass, plastics and aluminium, but the new system
to recycle cardboard has alone reduced the RIBA’s waste to landfill by half a tonne a week.

Richard Hastilow, Chief Executive of the RIBA said:

“Tackling climate change clearly requires concerted action by all organisations and businesses. The RIBA’s
‘Combating Climate Change’ programme is already providing architects with key information and tools -
to help them and their clients reduce carbon consumption in all types of projects. Alongside this, RIBA
members and staff have been determined to reduce the Institute’s own carbon footprint. These latest
figures show that we are making very substantial progress.”

In addition to these measures, the RIBA has an ongoing programme dedicated to raising awareness
about climate change and helping practices become more carbon aware. Most recently the Institute
launched CarbonBuzz, an online platform which allows practices monitor their projects’ carbon emissions.
Climate change was also the focus of the RIBA Trust’s Annual Lecture, this year delivered by Lord
Stern in November 2008.

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CREDITS:
Text and logo: The Royal Institute of British Architects