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FCA Signs AIA Climate Agreement

Leading architecture, planning, and interior design firm FCA announces the recent signing of AIA’s 2030 Commitment. This actionable climate strategy provides a roadmap for reaching net zero emissions within the decade, and reinforces FCA’s ongoing commitment to strategies and best practices that work towards an inherently sustainable built environment. This is just one in a series of steps aimed at increasing firm transparency and accountability regarding all operations.

“This initiative factors into our firm’s comprehensive plans for fostering a culture of sustainability, both internally and externally,” says FCA President Aran McCarthy, AIA, NCARB. “Our long-term goals are centered around prosperity for our firm, our clients, and for the larger community. We’re excited to continue making positive strides toward a greener future and implementing proactive solutions to reach net zero emissions by 2030.”

To further integrate sustainable design into firm culture and practices, Robert Fleming, AIA, LEED AP, NOMA, LFA, recently joined the team as the Director of Sustainability. Currently an instructor in design leadership at the University of Pennsylvania and the current president of the Philadelphia AIA chapter, Fleming’s mission is to seamlessly integrate progressive, sustainable design processes into the firm’s existing framework while helping develop and implement a formalized Sustainability Action Plan. In his new role, Fleming will simultaneously build a transparent system of accountability through a curated dashboard that inspires continuous education and improvement.

“FCA has created a solid bedrock for sustainable practices through its intentional project work, positive leadership culture and dedication to the community,” said Fleming. “Moving forward, the firm will undergo a methodical and long-lasting cultural shift in both worldview and mindset. This shift will yield an innovative new process, and critical improvements to existing processes that collectively lead to increasingly ambitious goals.”

FCA’s dedicated sustainability team is in the discovery phase of the planning process. This phase includes interactive sessions with different stakeholder groups inside and outside of the firm and will result in a Sustainable Action Plan created through an inclusive, co-creative process. Concurrent with the planning phase, the firm is pursuing goal-setting, idea generation and planning for implementation throughout early 2023. The plan aims to develop a holistic series of graduated options for clients to adopt more ambitious sustainability commitments that accommodate both project budgets and schedules.

With the 2030 Agreement’s goal of designing and building to meet net zero benchmarks, as well as the addition of a dedicated Sustainability Director, FCA reaffirms its commitment to both people and the planet. The A&D community uses design as a medium to responsibly interact with and impact the outside world. FCA will continue to do its part through the built environment in hopes of envisioning a better future for all.