Urakawa Jenkins Architecture are now proudly carbon neutral. As architects, our involvement in the construction industry poses serious impacts on the climate as well as natural habitats, so we want to practice what we preach and follow through with our commitment to the environment by offsetting our own operational impacts.
A regenerative future for planet Earth ultimately involves a fundamental shift in our value system and this can’t ever be merely quantified. Re-evaluating our place in the biosphere brings us closer to a sustainable living planet. As architects we spend every day on this re-evaluation process so our projects can aim for sustainability.
So how did we choose to offset our carbon impacts? We have partnered with Trace to measure our carbon footprint and become third party certified as Carbon Neutral.
The audit by Trace has overestimated carbon emissions from Urakawa Jenkins Architecture’s business operations and offset that amount, then planted an additional five trees for every tonne sequestered. We aim to have a net positive impact whereby more carbon is being removed than what would have been produced.
While we considered donating money directly to forestry charities and cutting red tape, in the end we decided to go with independently verified carbon offsets and be a part of the market system. This means we contribute to the portfolio of climate projects selected by Trace, each of which not only provides carbon credits to offset emissions but also support UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As a carbon neutral organisation, we will continue to measure, reduce and offset our emissions each year while aiming towards having a net positive impact. It’s another way of re-evaluating our place on the planet so we can better design your place on the planet.
