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When times are “normal” and business is humming along per usual, change occurs relatively slowly. I am always amazed at how long it takes...
Sustainability and Resilience Initiative Council First Meeting of the FY21 Year
October 8, 2020
On September 23rd, the Sustainability and Resilience Initiative Council (SRIC) met for the first meeting of the FY21 year. This year’s council has many new members joining in, so the group was very excited and energized to meet each other. The meeting started out with introductions of all the members and an overview of the council’s focus for the new year.
The focus of the council this year will be on healthy, resilient and sustainable development and the post-pandemic world. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the global landscape in many ways, economically, socially and culturally. There is no back to normal but only defining the new normal and moving forward. However, this crisis can be a significant teaching moment regarding emergency preparedness at scale and provide a new lens through which to view the interconnected nature of the systems, especially when extended to the context of climate change as a looming threat.
This year, the council will frame the meetings around translating code lessons learned into a better approach to planning for mitigating and recovering from the impacts of climate change. The council will look at the changes to the built environment and posed by COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the health preparedness of buildings energy use, GHD emissions and how to stay the course to carbon neutrality.
The topic for September 23rd meeting was “Day Two.” There has been a lot of different discussions surrounding specific code response as the “Day One” response to the pandemic. But what happens next? What are the things that we think are going to stay in a longer-term way?
The speakers which includes Wendy Feldman Block, Senior Managing Director, Savills; Toby Millman, Senior Vice President, Development, Brookfield; and Ryan Poole, Global Sustainability Leader, DPR Construction, all spoke to these questions from their different experiences and knowledge during the hour conversation.
The council looks forward to their next meeting in December and continuing these important conversations.