The Guide was co-published by MEP 2040 and the Carbon Leadership Forum on Earth Day, 2025.
Our Mission:
MEP 2040 is a movement to radically reduce total carbon emissions associated with building systems through collective action.
The MEP 2040 Challenge
“All systems engineers shall advocate for and achieve net zero carbon in their projects: operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040.”
The Carbon Leadership Forum issued the Challenge in the fall of 2021. A group of leaders from MEP firms responded to the Challenge and collectively established a Commitment for you to join. Moving forward, this group of leaders will be responsible for convening signatories around a common goal.
Many MEP design firms and MEP manufacturers that are already responding to this Challenge. Next, we’ll need more of you to join in and figure out how to implement this challenge at scale. It takes a movement to change a world!
The MEP 2040 Commitment
Establish a company plan
Request low-GWP refrigerants
Request EPDs
Participate in Forums
Kate Simonen, executive director of the Carbon Leadership Forum:
“The Challenge demands more than vague promises by building designers to do better. It requires a set of solid commitments to take specific actions, including reducing refrigerants, requesting data from manufacturers, and becoming active participants in industry-wide efforts to decarbonize building systems.”
Establish a company plan to reduce operational and embodied carbon across MEP systems on all projects, targeting zero by 2040. Measure and report progress against that plan annually.
Request low-GWP refrigerant availability when designing systems to reduce or eliminate GHG emissions from refrigerants.
Request Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in project specifications for MEP system components.
Participate in a quarterly MEP 2040 Forum and a CLF Community discussion group to share lessons learned and contribute to a growing body of knowledge.
MEP Firm Signatories
The MEP 2040 Commitment is intended for MEP engineering and design firms. Companies and organizations that are not MEP firms are recognized as Supporters of the Commitment (see below).
Your organization can:
~ Issue a public statement of support.
~ Publicize MEP 2040 to your employees or members via newsletters and social media.
~ Attend quarterly MEP 2040 forums.
~ Highlight ongoing progress of the Challenge on your channels.
~ Suggest to MEP firms in your network that they become signatories.
Supporting Organizations
Your organization can:
~ Issue a public statement of support.
~ Publicize MEP 2040 to your employees or members via newsletters and social media.
~ Attend quarterly MEP 2040 forums.
~ Highlight ongoing progress of the Challenge on your channels.
~ Suggest to MEP firms in your network that they become signatories.
Why Should Your Organization Join the Movement?
(Learn why others joined.)