• Greenhouse Gas Report for 2009

EYP recently unveiled an aggressive internal sustainability program dubbed EYP Planet. This effort establishes a holistic and comprehensive approach towards improving the firm's environmental performance and stems from EYP's strong desire to make a significant difference in the world by creating a culture deeply committed to helping save the environment. Recently, this commitment has been nationally recognized - Architect Magazine named EYP #2 on their list of the Top Green Design Firms and Engineering News Record ranked EYP #17 of the Top 100 Green Design Firms.

As an immediate initiative of EYP Planet, the firm conducted a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Assessment throughout the firm's office locations. The firm is now implementing the results of this assessment to enact a plan of action that we hope will serve as an industry-wide model to educate its employees, colleagues, and clients on methods for improving operational performance and realizing positive impacts on the environment.

The assessment establishes a quantitative baseline to inform and measure current sustainable efforts relative to EYP's day-to-day business practices, define future, short and long term goals, and indicate potential areas for further reduction efforts. Ultimately, EYP plans to use this assessment to inform ongoing work and increase organizational sustainability.

EYP's vice president of Design and Expertise and champion of EYP Planet, Leila Kamal, described the firm's motive behind embarking on this journey, "We strongly encourage our clients to green their own cultures as we collaborate with them to reach innovative sustainable solutions. We initiated EYP Planet to ensure that, like our clients, our firm incorporates sustainable building ideas and energy efficiency into every aspect of our design, and ultimately, our practice."

The firm's well-established, internal Eco Team will annually assess and evaluate operational performance, quantifying its reduction of energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, paper consumption, and improvement of indoor air quality. By grading overall performance, the firm can guide itself to achieve sustainability and enhanced environmental efficiency in the future.

Valerie Towe, Resource Director of EYP's Boston office and core member of EYP Planet, stated, "Now that we have completed this assessment, we have plans in place to ensure our data gathering process is even more effective. By working with our vendors, we aim to streamline the data we collect and measure and are adjusting our operations to obtain that precise real-time data." She continues, "Although greening our practice is a complex exercise that involves changing our culture, the firm has whole-heartedly embraced this charge."

The firm's current goal of reducing 2 MT of CO2E per person annually to enable EYP to become carbon neutral by 2030 will require a combination of writing new green policies, developing innovative changes in operations and purchasing additional green offsets.

Green strategies such as these are increasingly being adopted throughout the government, civic, healthcare, education and research building environments. EYP is among the first Architecture & Engineering firms to begin implementing the recommendations of their Greenhouse Gas Assessment.