Hacker was founded on the idea that architecture should be in service to community. For over three decades the firm has designed enduring spaces that inspire people to contribute to positive cultural change. This guiding vision extends beyond humanity to encompass the natural world and the diversity of species it supports. Over the years, Hacker has developed an aesthetic for buildings that interact dynamically with their surroundings and make humble use of the earth’s resources. Through research, conference engagement, and continuing education, we continue to refine our design process, detailing, and material choices to reflect our priority of preserving the well-being of all life systems on our planet.
Change, of course, starts at home. Our office culture is the core of our environmental ethic and each year we strive to reduce our carbon footprint. We began tracking our work-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2009. As part of signing on to the AIA 2030 Commitment last year, we chose to offset our travel-related GHG emissions. We took this commitment one step further by offsetting all of our emissions for the 2014-2015 fiscal year through Climate Smart. We are proud to report that these most recent GHG emissions represent a 31% reduction from our 2009 baseline.
We arrived at these statistics by measuring all of the emissions related to electricity and natural gas consumption, fuel used by company owned cars, business travel, staff commuting, garbage and paper consumption. Our biggest recent success is in alternative transportation. Currently 77% of our staff choose an alternative to the single occupancy vehicle to commute to the office. It is our hope that sharing our story with our clients as well as the public will be an inspiration for others to make choices that secure a healthy future for all living communities.
