MEP 2040 Quarterly Forums
Twelfth Quarterly Forum
January 23, 2025
This Forum is our homecoming event, bringing together our signatories, supporters, and friends to share a recap of the activities and accomplishments of MEP 2040 from 2024, and take a look at what we hope to accomplish in 2025
These will include the soon-to-be-released MEP Life Cycle Analysis guide and case study, which was recently previewed at Greenbuild in Philadelphia, as well as a recap of the 2024 conference presentations by MEP 2040 about our shared work. We will also hear updates about the ECHO Project (Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization) and how that will influence future reporting for MEP embodied and operational greenhouse gas emissions.
We also want to celebrate MEP 2040’s new partnership with Architecture 2030 as our fiscal agent. This will allow MEP2040 to accept tax-deductible contributions, helping our young initiative raise funds for ongoing operations and projects, and enabling us to scale up our activities to decarbonize MEP systems.
2024: A Year in Review
We will have brief presentations from each of our Working Groups, sharing what they were working on in 2024, and previewing their plans for 2025:
Communications & Resources
Data, Analysis & Reporting
Partnerships
Manufacturers & EPDs
Eleventh Quarterly Forum
October 3, 2024
Kim Shinn, TLC Engineering, Member of MEP 2040 Steering Committee
Saheed Imoru and Tim Kilby, DBR
Dylan Jones, EwingCole
Nicole Isle, Glumac
Kaylee Levine, IMEG
Luke Leung, SOM
Bradley McClain, Wight
Sarah Halstead, Windward
Having a decarbonization plan is crucial for MEP design firms as well as their development partners, clients, and employees for several reasons:
Environmental Impact
Regulatory Compliance
Economic Benefits
Market Demand
Corporate Responsibility
Resilience and Adaptation
Panel members introduce plans developed by their companies and summarize the characteristics of ambitious and successful processes and the dynamic and impactful plans they produce.
Company Decarbonization Plans
The meeting included reports from all the MEP 2040 working groups:
Communications & Resources
Data, Analysis & Reporting
Partnerships
Manufacturers & EPDs
Tenth Quarterly Forum
June 24, 2024
For decades engineers and manufacturers have been focused on minimizing operational greenhouse gas impacts. They have been very successful in this endeavor and have us on the precipice of near zero operational buildings. This is something to celebrate, but what if it is only half the battle?
As we strive for near zero in operational carbon in our buildings, we need to remember to understand and then start to minimize the embodied impacts that our product/material selections have. This panel explored what some building owners and operators are doing about that and how manufacturers are rising to the challenge.
Panelists
Josh Jacob, WAP Sustainability (Moderator)
Kellie Jensen, META, Sustainability Program Manager
Andrew Rhodes, Amazon, Senior Program Manager Sustainable Buildings
Kavita Vallabhaneni, BAC, Global Director, Product Marketing and Management
Clayton Terry, Carrier, Design for Sustainability Lead
Shannon Sajdak, Trane, Product Sustainability Leader
Specifying, Procuring and Meeting Embodied Carbon MEP Requirements
The meeting included reports from all the MEP 2040 working groups:
Communications & Resources
Data, Analysis & Reporting
Partnerships
Manufacturers & EPDs
MEP 2040’s Tenth Quarterly Forum was both livestreamed and in-person at the 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference June 22-26, 2024 in Indianapolis, IN.
Copyright Notice: ©ASHRAE www.ashrae.org, 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference, Panel 5, June, 2024.
Ninth Quarterly Forum
March 28, 2024
2024 is the Year of Opportunity for MEP 2040, and the first quarterly forum was a signal of what’s to come.
ASHRAE’s Center of Excellence for Building Decarbonization and MEP2040 recently aligned their efforts, Kent Peterson (ASHRAE Presidential Member) joined us to discuss our joint vision for what we hope to accomplish, upcoming ASHRAE decarbonization events, as well as progress within ASHRAE 240P.
One Click LCA recently released an MEP Carbon Tool and launched a collaboration opportunity with MEP 2040. Panu Pasanen (CEO and Founder, One Click) joined us to discuss this opportunity as well as the initial MEP embodied carbon studies performed by the Data Analysis and Reporting group.
With LEED v5 being announced during Greenbuild this Fall there were several whole life carbon inclusions noted, including reporting of refrigerant and its leakage, Wes Sullens (Director, LEED – US Green Building Council) joined us to give an update on the latest news with LEED v5.
Many decarbonization conferences are taking place in 2024! The Steering Committee previewed and highlighted conferences with special relevance for MEP engineers.
Data and Reporting on the Embodied Carbon of MEP Systems: Progress and Opportunity
The meeting included reports from all the MEP 2040 working groups:
Communications & Resources
Data, Analysis & Reporting
Partnerships
Manufacturers & EPDs
Eighth Quarterly Forum
December 7, 2023
The MEP 2040 Steering Committee announced the new Mission Statement:
MEP 2040 is a movement to radically reduce total carbon emissions associated with building systems through collective action.
The meeting featured reports on:
The ASHRAE Building Decarbonization Conference in October
Significant focus at GreenBuild on embodied carbon of building systems
ECHO Project (Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization) to align data and reporting on embodied carbon among all low-carbon initiatives, programs, certifications, and commitments.
EPA Notice of Funding Opportunity for companies to develop EPDs and for low-carbon building projects
2023: A Year in Review
The meeting concluded with reports from all the MEP 2040 working groups:
Communications & Resources
Data, Analysis & Reporting
Partnerships
Manufacturers & EPDs
Seventh Quarterly Forum
September 14, 2023
The whole-carbon balance for energy-using MEP systems has been an elusive topic for many. As operational carbon continues to be a focus, our understanding of embodied carbon ramps up, and low-GWP refrigerants consistently face regulatory challenges, making informed decisions based on the whole picture is a complex problem that our industry has yet to solve. Please join us for MEP2040's next quarterly forum, where we will shed light on this complex topic and begin to identify a roadmap toward solutions.
Presenters: Whole Carbon Case Studies
Luke Leung (SOM)
Julie Janiski + Kayleigh Houde (Buro Happold)
Kelsey Wotila (Eskew Dumez + Ripple)
Panelists:
Erin McDade (Arch 2030)
Stacy Smedley (Building Transparency)
Jessica Bristow (ILFI)
Kent Peterson (ASHRAE)
Focus on the Carbon Balance
Three members of the MEP 2040 Steering Committee presented whole carbon case studies analyzing the role played by MEP systems in an overall calculation of the lifetime carbon emissions associated with either new construction, renovation or adaptive reuse of existing structures, covering both operational and embodied carbon.
Four panelists from key organizational MEP 2040 partners responded to the case studies.
Sixth Quarterly Forum
June 15, 2023
Refrigerants have a significant environmental footprint. While we know the impacts of individual refrigerants, engineers are often left on their own to estimate how refrigerant emissions affect the lifecycle carbon of their projects. Both reducing leakage and using lower impact refrigerants can have a major impact. In this forum, we heard from manufacturers:
Jennifer Butsch from COPELAND on the strategy for HFC phaseout [SLIDES]
Stephen Spletzer from Chemours on low-GWP refrigerants coming on the market, their impacts and regulatory hurdles, as well as European vs North American trends. [SLIDES]
Philip Johnston from Daikin on their approach to low-GWP refrigerant adoption, as well as its impact on design and performance [SLIDES]
Steve Kujak from Trane on their approach to low-GWP refrigerant adoption, as well as its impact on design and performance
Focus on Refrigerants
This event focused on the significant contribution of refrigerants to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and how the MEP industry can pivot to address and radically reduce the impact of refrigerants.
Fifth Quarterly Forum
March 2, 2023
This event featured a panel discussion on the role of MEP manufacturers in reducing embodied carbon in built environments. The value of an EPD continues to grow in our industry, but the thought of going out to get one can be daunting. Carrier, Trane Technologies and Ductsox participated in a panel discussion in hopes to provide the beginnings of a roadmap for others to follow. This quarterly forum focused on the following topics:
Why is embodied carbon data important for the future of their business?
Who are the key stakeholders within the organization to approach on this topic?
How do you introduce the topic of embodied carbon in your company?
Reflections/insights on the journey of obtaining an EPD?
Focus on Manufacturers
Fourth Quarterly Forum
December 8. 2022
This event featured a panel discussion on the role of policy as a tool to reduce embodied carbon in built environments.
Meghan Lewis discussed the strategic landscape and outlook for policy action at all levels (local/state/national/international) to encourage reduction of embodied carbon with implications for MEP systems, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, owners, investors, etc. Meghan is is a Senior Researcher at the Carbon Leadership Forum, where she leads research on procurement of low carbon materials and how public and private embodied carbon policy can support the rapid decarbonization of building materials and construction.
Betty Cremmins discussed action to transform manufacturing and reduce embodied carbon (from EOP, etc.), including the intentions, implementation, and new opportunities and resources available to drive decarbonization afforded by IRA (and other EOP) initiatives. Betty is Director for Sustainable Supply Chains, Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, Council on Environmental Quality. She was formerly a Director at the Carbon Disclosure Project and has an extensive background in green building and environmental policy.
Focus on Policy
Third Quarterly Forum
September, 2022
The Forum featured a panel discussion by Owners, reporting on and discussing their role in helping develop a market for low-carbon MEP systems, including Anthony Bernheim, Healthy and Resilient Buildings Program Manager at San Francisco International Airport, and Don Horn, Deputy Director, Office of Federal High Performance Green Buildings, US General Services Administration. Topics included:
How are Owners approaching “Whole Life Carbon”? Role of ESG’s?
What role do MEP systems play in Embodied Carbon accounting?
How can Owners best influence their Supply Chains? In RFP’s?
What Tools are being used? What Guidance is emerging?
What do Owners need from their Project Teams?
Focus on Owners
Second Quarterly Forum
June 9, 2022
The Forum in June 2022 featured reports from the four working groups composed and led by volunteers from MEP signatory companies:
Data & Tools Working Group
Manufacturers & EPDs Working Group
Partnerships Working Group
Communications Working Group
Focus on Working Groups
First Quarterly Forum
March, 2022
Introducing the Commitment – Kim Shinn
Creating a Company Plan – Julie Janiski
Refrigerants – Luke Leung & Kayleigh Houde
Requesting EPDs – Kristy Walson
Introducing the MEP 2040 Working Groups
Introducing the MEP 2040 Commitment
Introducing the Commitment - Kim Shinn at the March 2022 Forum
Requesting EPDs for the MEP 2040 Commitment - Kristy Walson at the March 2022 Forum
Creating a Company Plan – Julie Janiski at the March 2022 Forum
Refrigerants and the MEP2040 Challenge - Luke Leung and Kayleigh Houde
