In celebration of Earth Day, AE Design is taking part in the worldwide mission to invest in our planet with the solutions we provide for our clients. To accelerate change towards a more sustainable and equitable future, we’re making commitments to meaningful change in our industry. We hope to see our peers help create an industry where we can ensure clients have healthy, high-performing facilities that will positively improve user wellness, the climate, the environment and our communities.

Sustainable design is no longer an option. It's a necessity. As designers, the onus is upon us to reach beyond the bare minimum, think creatively, and push our team/clients to aspire to higher standards in sustainability across lighting, engineering and architecture.

It’s critical we create collaborative environments to encourage continued education and the exchanging of ideas around equitable, sustainable approaches and environments that put these ideas into motion.

But where to begin?

While owners, architects, designers and other key players within the built environment might have sustainability goals for new buildings or renovations, it may not be clear where (and how) to begin the process. Additionally, there are always obstacles encountered along the way: operations costs, material availability, building codes and construction schedules all present a wide variety of complexities.

To work through these hurdles, we must carefully consider each step of resource procurement, manufacturing, and installation, and remain judicious about how to implement ethical processes. It’s critical to improve the transparency behind the manufacturing process, analyze the options for the sustainable fixture options, implement a more formalized standardization across the lighting fixture market and examine the potential higher costs associated with sustainable products and discuss whether they are justifiable or not.

Are you ready to commit?

Now that we understand what we have to do as designers, let's commit! AE Design has signed mindful MATERIALS’ Lighting Advocacy Letter, an initiative by lighting specifiers to accelerate the sustainability of lighting products. Inspired by the AIA Materials Pledge, the letter is intended to inspire a collective dialogue with the lighting manufacturing community about how to align intent and action around a common framework for sustainability.

We encourage other lighting designers, building owners, developers, manufacturers, contractors, and project partners to publicly commit to making more informed material choices and specification changes and support an ongoing dialogue with manufacturers to reduce the impacts of the built environment.

Join us in signing the mindful MATERIALS’ Lighting Advocacy Letter here: https://www.mindfulmaterials.com/lighting-advocacy-letter

What we hope to see…

AE Design strives to make our client’s lives easier through the design of unique integrated lighting, technology, and electrical solutions. We also commit to providing transparency on the materials and optimal lighting we incorporate into spaces. As we deliver high-level, exceptional projects with a focus on socially responsible, sustainable design, we are motivated by purpose-driven goals, equitable solutions and a deep commitment to our core value of sustainability.

On this Earth Day, and every day, we hope to inspire our industry counterparts and partners to live, work and play with these practices in mind. There’s no better time than now to invest in our planet.

Advocating for Sustainable Practices in Design