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T R E N D L I N E S

Keep your cool! Great leaders know when to hold their tongues, take a step back, ask questions, and come to a better solution.

Who sees financial data

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

E very day that goes by, the more convinced I am that our abilities to keep our individual cool during potentially emotional situations is one of the most important skills we can develop. And, like most other skills, it is improved with practice. Here are some examples of what I am talking about: ❚ ❚ An employee says/writes something in- credibly stupid to you that proves without a doubt how misguided they are or how inflated their opinion of themselves is, and you want to fire them on the spot because of it. Has this ever happened to you? If so, you aren’t alone. But you may want to think about that immediate firing. What will happen to the projects this person is working on? Who will complete those projects? What will the client(s) think? Is all of the employee’s work where you can get to it on your server, or is it stored somewhere else? Also, this employee could be well-loved by other employees, who will see you a monster for what you did, and you could screw up the morale of the whole team. Keep your cool before you act. ❚ ❚ A client wants you to do something for free or at a price that you just can’t possibly agree to. Has this ever happened to you? It certainly has me. But, before scoffing and act- ing insulted and telling him/her there’s no way you can meet the request, you would be better off to stay cool and start asking questions. Why does he/she think this is needed? Is it ab- solutely necessary? Why does the client think

Zweig Group’s 2015 Financial Performance Survey of AEP and Environmental Consulting Firms finds that 21 percent of firms share their firm’s financial informa- tion with all firm members . Financial information includes data on utiliza- tion, sales, revenue, profits, etc. for the firm. Seventy-one percent share this information with the president/ CEO/managing partner , 53 percent share it with VPs/principals , and 51 percent share it with the finance and accounting staff . Boards of direc- tors and shareholders see financial data in 49 and 47 percent of firms; 15 percent of firms share it with de- partment heads and branch office managers . Fourteen percent of firms report associates/senior associates may see their firm’s financial data, and 4 percent report project manag- ers can. Percentages total more than 100 because answer choices were not mutually exclusive. — Leah Santos, research analyst assistant F I R M I N D E X Becker Morgan Group . ........................................ 2 CO Architects ....................................................... 9 David Baker Architects ...................................... 10 Diamond Schmitt ................................................. 9 EnerNOC .............................................................. 2 Environmental Science Associates ..................... 2 Eskew+Dumez+Ripple ....................................... 10 Hatch Mott MacDonald ....................................... 5 HOK ...................................................................... 6 Interface Studio Architects . ................................ 9 KJWW Engineering Consultants ......................... 6 Kleinfelder ........................................................... 5 kW Engineering ................................................... 2 Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects . ...................... 10 Overland Partners................................................ 9 RTKL ..................................................................... 9 SERA Architects . ................................................. 9 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill .............................. 10 Sterling Construction Company Inc. .................... 2 The Miller Hull Partnership ................................. 9 Thornton Tomasetti .......................................... 2, 4 Urbanica Design .................................................. 9

“IF you can bite your tongue, think, get some questions answered, and not act emotionally, YOU can respond to the problem the way you really want to – on YOUR schedule with the least amount of fallout.”

Mark Zweig

MORE COLUMNS xz GUEST SPEAKER: Contract risk management Page 3 PLUS xz AUGUST CALENDAR: Page 11 z CONSULTING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS: Page 5

See MARK ZWEIG , page 2

Today’s trends Sustainable Atlanta Page 7

It ain’t easy being ‘green’ Page 6

T H E V O I C E O F R E A S O N F O R A / E / P & E N V I R O N M E N TA L C O N S U LT I N G F I R M S

BUSINESS NEWS THORNTON TOMASETTI SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTING HELPS HISTORIC SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL GET LEED PLATINUM CERTIFICATION Thornton Tomasetti (New York, NY), an international engineering firm, announced that the century-old San Francisco City Hall, for which the firm provided sustainability consulting as part of a larger renovation, has achieved LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance Platinum certification. The 516,484-square-feet Beaux Arts building, with the fifth tallest dome in the world, is the oldest in the United States to achieve platinum, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating. Retained by kW Engineering , the commissioning agent, and EnerNOC , the project manager for the project, Thornton Tomasetti managed the LEED certification process, which included providing sustainability strategy recommendations to the design team, tracking compliance with LEED during the performance period, and reviewing and submitting documentation to the Green Building ❚ ❚ Thornton Tomasetti facilitated an analysis and field survey to identify low performing areas in order to improve resource efficiency goals, such as those for water, energy and construction materials. ❚ ❚ The team implemented a retro-commissioning effort to reduce the building’s energy use and identified specific hurdles to pursuing LEED certification, such as the need to separate building steam meters for district supplied steam. Certification Institute. During the renovation: ❚ ❚ Overall, energy efficiency improvements will reduce consumption by approximately 20 percent, helping to make the city hall one of the most energy efficient buildings in the country.

FIRMS ON THE MOVE BECKER MORGAN GROUP OPENS NEWARK OFFICE Becker Morgan Group (Dover, DE) celebrated the opening of its Newark, Delaware, office with a ribbon- cutting ceremony on June 18. The office is located in Rittenhouse Station, a project designed by the firm in 2009. “We’re very pleased to open our Newark office. After working in this community for years and employing many University of Delaware graduates, it’s great to have a home here where we can better serve both existing and future clients,” said Gregory Moore, the firm’s vice president.

ON THE MOVE

ESA PROMOTES NEWCOO Environmental Science Associates (San Francisco, CA), an environmental planning and design firm, announced that Brian Ramos, Ph.D., the firm’s senior vice president and Northern California regional director, has been promoted to chief operating officer. Ramos has more than 30 years of experience in environmental consulting, professional archaeology, and finance. “Brian has been successfully managing ESA’s largest region, actively engaging with staff to increase operational efficiencies, positively impacting our bottom line – qualities critical to the COO position,” said Gary Oates, ESA’s CEO and president. “His strategic approach to business, collaborative leadership, and thorough understanding of our industry make him a natural fit for our executive leadership team.” STERLING ANNOUNCES CFO TRANSITION Sterling Construction Company Inc. (Houston, TX), announced that its executive vice president and chief financial officer, Thomas Wright, has stepped down, effective July 3, for personal reasons but will remain involved with the company as a consultant. Sterling plans to launch a search for a new CFO and will evaluate internal and external candidates. Kevan Blair, the firm’s senior

More ONTHE MOVE, page 4

ZWEIG GROUP NEEDS YOUR HELP! Zweig Group is working to update its AE Job Descriptions and AE Organizational Charts publications, originally published in 2003. To help us provide readers with the most comprehensive information, please email your jobs and charts to abennett@zweiggroup.com .

38West Trenton Blvd., Suite 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Andrea Bennett | Managing Editor abennett@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent lsullivan@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Correspondent rmassey@zweiggroup.com

MARK ZWEIG , from page 1

and needs to be informed. How much would it cost to restart the project with another firm? Is anyone else on- deck and ready to go, if you do that? How will your firing the sub on this job affect other jobs your firm might have that organization working on? What will your fellow principals think of you if you fired him/her? Stay calm and cool and answer these questions – and more – before you act. I could go on and on with more examples, but the bottom line is this: IF you can bite your tongue, think, get some questions answered, and not act emotionally, YOU can respond to the problem the way you really want to – on YOUR schedule with the least amount of fallout. And that, my friends, is the hallmark of a great leader. MARK ZWEIG is founder and CEO of Zweig Group. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com .

you should do it for free – is there a perceived “debt” for you to work-off (in his/her mind)? How much is this client relationship worth to you? Is the marketing benefit of the free/reduced price work worth what it costs you? While it is tempting to laugh off the request or give a smart alec response, stay cool – don’t be sarcastic – and you will probably come out ahead. ❚ ❚ A subconsultant is simply not per- forming. You want to fire him/her immediately and get someone else on the job. Has this ever happened to you? I would bet it has. Once again, while it may be tempting to drop the axe, it may also be expensive. What is this sub’s relationship to your client? What will be said about you? Are you sure you are dealing with the right person in the subconsultant’s organi- zation? Maybe the principal is pres- ently unaware of the non-performance

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THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

Contract risk management Paying close attention, knowing what to look for, and including the firm’s attorney or insurance broker during contract review can help prevent uninsured claims. O P I N I O N

A key component of any architect or engineer’s (A/E’s) risk management plan must be evaluating and minimizing inappropriate risks assumed by contract. This can be a difficult undertaking in light of the pressures to win more work in a competitive market, inflexible project owners with high-priced lawyers, and governmental entities that have limited or no ability to modify their standard agreements.

Dan Knise

“Plans, drawings, and specifications should be

Even against this backdrop, it is critical for design professionals to review their contracts carefully before signing them. At the very least, they should seek to understand the additional risks and ideally mitigate them by modifying the contract wording. This may require input from a knowledgeable attorney and/or an experienced insurance broker, who can evaluate the contract against the insurance coverages the design professional carries. A few of the key issues to keep in mind during the contract review process are: ❚ ❚ Standard of care. Design professionals are, by law, held to a “standard of care” that does not require perfection. That is, unless you, by contract, give away this protection and accept a higher level of contrac- tual liability. Do not allow this to happen and be sure that any contract includes a reasonable standard of care clause. An example of “good” language is: “The Design Professional will perform its services us- ing the degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by design professionals performing similar services in the same locality under similar circumstances and condi- tions.” ❚ ❚ Express warranties and guarantees. Keep in mind that the A/E’s professional liability insurance policy typically excludes any liability assumed by contract, unless the liability would have “existed in the ab- sence of the contract.” This includes any express warranties and guarantees and reinforces the impor- tance of avoiding contract phrases such as “fitness contracts carefully before signing them. At the very least, they should seek to understand the additional risks and ideally mitigate them by modifying the contract wording.” “It is critical for design professionals to review their

for use,” “time is of the essence,” “best,” “error-free,” etc. This issue is often misunderstood by project owners accustomed to working with contractors who have a very different risk-reward situation and often make explicit warranties regarding fitness for use, time of delivery, etc. ❚ ❚ Indemnification. Project owners, and their attor- neys, are often confused by this issue because of their experience working with contractors, who rely on their general liability insurance for their primary liability protection. General liability insurance poli- cies include broad contractual liability protection as a standard coverage, allowing these contractors to sign contracts with relatively onerous indemnifica- tion clauses. Meanwhile, the typical A/E insurance policy states that any “liability of others assumed under contract” is excluded, unless “the liability would have existed in the absence of the contract.” This is a very narrow coverage grant that limits a design professional’s protection to only those instances where the A/E is otherwise negligent. Any indemnification clause must be tied to negligence and, even then, only to the extent of this negligence. Absent this modifying language, there is the likelihood that any claim for indemnification will be uninsured. A related issue is the “duty to defend” (versus the duty to reimburse reasonable legal fees). Most insurers consider the duty to defend to be a con- tractual commitment that goes beyond the coverage provided under the professional liability insurance policy. This is because, at the time the duty to de- fend kicks in, there has been no finding of fault or considered as “instruments of service” representing the design professional’s intellectual property and requiring his/her authorization for any additional use.”

See DAN KNISE , page 4

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

ON THE MOVE

THORNTON TOMASETTI ANNOUNCES PRO- MOTIONS The board of directors of Thornton Tomasetti (New York, NY), an international engineering firm, announced the following promotions: NewYork ❚ ❚ Chief Administration Officer: Andrew Goldbaum ❚ ❚ Senior Principal: James Feuerborn Jr. ❚ ❚ Principal: Robert Kornfeld Jr., Scott Lomax, Stephen Szycher ❚ ❚ Associate Principal: Colin Brown, Michael Gerasopoulos ❚ ❚ Vice President: Ali Ashrafi, Michele Becker, Reza Farimani ❚ ❚ Senior Associate: Damon Baumann, Amy Macdonald ❚ ❚ Associate: Vincent Aleo, Austin Allcot, Anita Asokan, Cristian Butnaru, Liling Cao, William Cooch, Armela Dervishi, Michelle Dionisio, Tonia Gotsis, Justin

Gumberich, Onur Ihtiyar, Misael Rojas, Michael So, Luis Valderruten, Zachary Wiegand, Melissa Wong ❚ ❚ Senior Project Engineer: Christina Chu, Ignacio Fernandez Ortega, Efe Karanci, Fengxia Ouyang, Christopher Ward, Boris Weinstein, Natalie Wolfram ❚ ❚ Project Engineer: Patrick Kenny, Karen Nelson, Edwin Yu ❚ ❚ Senior Project Director: Charu Chaudhry, Haider Himairi, Brogan McIlwrick, Odysseas Olysseou, Viviana Vumbaca ❚ ❚ Project Director: Asta Fivgas, Christos Mavroudis, Lauren Millman, Silverio Patrizi, Catherine Wang ❚ ❚ Senior Engineer: Ronald Ademaj, Jason Andrew, BenedetArgento, Virginie Arnaud, Aditya Bhagath, Juan Chen, Scott Cipoletti, Eric Gargiulo, Jason Glenn, Corey Henriquez, Erin Kelly, Ian King, Dmitri Lamianski, Jason Lu, Francis Nagel, Marissa Peragine, Kylie Schalz,

Jennifer Tsang ❚ ❚ Senior Designer: Aikaterini Kefalogianni ❚ ❚ Director of Application Development: Benjamin Howes ❚ ❚ Senior Building Information Modeler: Pinki Changrani, Luz Gault, Adrian Paulino ❚ ❚ SystemAdministrator: Frank Reilly ❚ ❚ Senior Manager of Administrative Services: Lyn Stevens ❚ ❚ Marketing Coordinator: Amanda Spencer Newark ❚ ❚ Vice President: Sergio Londono ❚ ❚ Associate: Bahadir Ekinci ❚ ❚ Project Engineer: Adam Beckmann ❚ ❚ Senior Engineer: Jameson Allen, Benjamin Nichols Boston ❚ ❚ Vice President: Lisa Davey

DAN KNISE , from page 3

While the focus of this article is to point out contract areas of concern, keep in mind that there are also contract provisions that can assist in protecting architects and engineers. These can be important and include mutual waivers of subrogation, limitation of liability, waiver of consequential damages, minimum insurance requirements on other parties (including that the design professional be listed as an additional insured on any contractor general liability policy), etc. The most important step is to recognize that contracts do impact risk and that you need a formal process to review your firm’s proposed contracts and seek changes if need be. Seeking expert advice from your attorney and your insurance broker can also help. At the end of the day, business requires taking some risk in order to reap the rewards. Just be sure your eyes are open and you have a full understanding of your options. DAN KNISE is the president and CEO at Ames & Gough. Contact him at dknise@amesgough.com “There are also contract provisions that can assist in protecting architects and engineers. These can be important and include mutual waivers of subrogation, limitation of liability, waiver of consequential damages, (and) minimum insurance requirements on other parties.”

negligence on the part of the A/E. The phrase “defend” should be struck whenever possible. ❚ ❚ Ownership of documents/reuse. All too often we see con- tracts that allow the client to reuse the project documents and, even worse, do so without any protection for the design professional involved. Preferably, such plans, drawings, and specifications should be considered as “instruments of ser- vice” representing the design professional’s intellectual prop- erty and requiring his/her authorization for any additional use. Additionally, any future use of the documents should be at the client’s risk, and they should hold the design profes- sional harmless from any claims arising from that reuse. ❚ ❚ Construction phase services. Often project owners will at- tempt to require their architect or engineer to “inspect” the project during the construction phase. This implies a higher level of scrutiny and typically includes a requirement to “as- sure the quality of the work” or in some other way guarantee performance of the contractor as to defects and deficiencies (see earlier section on Warranties and Guarantees). Such lan- guage should be avoided and replaced with the more typical “observe the work and exercise reasonable care in determin- ing that it conforms generally to the contract documents.” Separately, be careful about taking on responsibility for site safety. This is a contractor responsibility, and design profes- sionals do not want to inadvertently assume a risk that they don’t control. ❚ ❚ Other provisions of concern. There are a host of other pro- visions that can create unfair or inequitable risk for design professionals. A few that come to mind are consequential damages, certifications, shop drawings, and reliance on own- er-provided information. These too should be reviewed and, if necessary, modified.

EDITOR’S NOTE This column is in response to the “ Firms under fire ” article that ran in THE ZWEIG LETTER, issue 1111, on July 13 . To share your thoughts on or experiences with contract liability or any topic in TZL , please email your comments to Managing Editor Andrea Bennett at abennett@zweiggroup.com .

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

SUSTAINABILI TY Consulting environmental consultants Modern professionals partner with clients to improve triple-bottom-line while reducing projects’ effects on the planet.

Flood says that there is a fundamental shift in how modern environmental consulting firms relate to clients and their work. “In the past, environmental compliance was viewed as a drain on our client’s bottom line. Today, we focus on minimizing carbon emissions and the use of energy, water, and materials,” he says. “Through resilient and sustainable design, we aim to improve our client’s triple-bottom-line of social, environ- mental, and financial benefits.” “Environmental services represents a diverse array of capabilities – site assessments and remediation, multimedia ... compliance, environmental planning, and permitting to name a few – and clients come to us to solve a diverse array of challenges.” SOUGHT-AFTER SERVICES REDUCE RISK. Michael Fos- ter, contaminated lands service line director at Kleinfelder (San Diego, CA), an 1,800-person global science, architecture and engineering consulting firm, says that the firm has found that its environ- mental services are one of the most sought-after service lines by clients. “Environmental services represent a diverse array of capabilities – site assessments and remediation, multimedia (i.e., soil, groundwater, air, surface wa- ter) compliance, environmental planning, and per- mitting to name a few – and clients come to us to solve a diverse array of challenges,” he says. Across all of the possible activities, the most valu- able role Foster believes that Kleinfelder provides is to reduce its clients’ environmental liability and risk exposure. “It’s more than a matter of assisting clients as they maintain compliance with permits and other reg- ulatory requirements, it means looking for oppor- tunities to optimize existing environmental pro- grams, methods, mechanical systems and report- ing,” he explains.

By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent

E nvironmental consulting: It’s an industry term, but just what does it mean? Who are these pro- fessionals, and what do they do? When is an en- vironmental consultant needed on a project? We went to a few sources to answer these questions. “In the past, environmental compliance was viewed as a drain on our client’s bottom line. Today, we focus on minimizing carbon emissions and the use of energy, water, and materials. Through resilient and sustainable design, we aim to improve our client’s triple-bottom-line of social, environmental, and financial benefits.” ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE – NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. At Hatch Mott MacDonald (Milburn, NJ), a 2,700-person, full-service consulting engineering firm, Donald Flood, principal and corporate marketing officer, says that the environmental consultants at Hatch Mott MacDonald become an integral partner with their clients, so the clients can achieve their busi- ness solutions, particularly in the areas of environ- mental compliance, permitting, stewardship, sus- tainability, and resilience. “While we are still quite active in remediation, this is much different from the industry’s previous fo- cus of reversing damage that had been caused in the past,” he says. “Working as a strong client ad- vocate, we are proactive in our approach, incorpo- rating sustainability and environmental compli- ance into all aspects of our client offerings. Early involvement is the key to maximizing the benefits that we can bring to a project.” Hatch Mott MacDonald’s approach to projects in- corporates techniques that combine short-term capital outlay and long-term operating costs, in line with their clients’ goals and objectives for sus- tainability and compliance.

Donald Flood, Principal &

Corporate Marketing Officer, Hatch Mott MacDonald.

See ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING , page 8

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

Today

It ain’t easy being ‘green’ Certification standards and the market require sophisticated, thoughtful design and implementation in order to achieve top rankings.

development side, it sometimes takes a few years for those gains to be reflected in the market. “The project area required for an array that might get a project to net zero, for example, often exceeds the available site or roof area of the project,” she says. “There is definitely a trend toward alternative means of onsite renewable energy generation, such as a bio- gas fuel cell or biofuel generator, or wind turbines mounted to a building parapet, or piezoelectric tech- nology that harnesses vibration energy. We’ve even seen a couple of examples of algae powering build- ings. Solar is by no means left behind; it is only to ev- eryone’s benefit that the diversity of renewable ener- gy options expands to address energy demand around the globe 24/7/365.” Landreneau says other interesting trends she’s seen include: ❚ ❚ Load reduction strategies. Such as phase change materials employed in ceiling systems, wall board, and even furniture (now that the open-office trend is firmly entrenched) to regulate interior temperature and cool- ing loads. A colleague at HOK just completed a study assessing the use of PCMs in a solar chimney to enable natural ventilation at night. ❚ ❚ Increased options for alternative financing. Such as power purchase agreements for solar and geother- mal systems, water purchase agreements for biological wastewater treatment systems, property assessed clean energy bonds for low interest loans that finance ef- ficiency improvements and renewable energy projects (and that stay with the property rather than borrower), and sustainable energy utilities. ❚ ❚ Healthy materials and materials transparency are becoming important as we learn more about the See GREEN , page 8 “In the past, being more efficient than code or getting LEED certification (or comparable) was perceived as green. Now, the market has become more sophisticated and the magnitude of our environmental challenges has become more apparent.”

By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent

I t used to be that adding a few solar panels to a build- ing would catapult it into the eco-friendly category, but that’s no longer the case. The landscape is chang- ing, and A/E firms are taking notice. What does it take to be “green” today? At KJWWEngineering Consultants (Rock Island, IL), a 470-per- son global engineering design consulting firm, Paul Parry, a principal and client executive, says that firm leaders have noticed a big change in “green” over the past couple of years. Formerly, green design and construction generally meant making a building somewhat eco-friendly, in- corporating fairly efficient systems, and recycling as much as possible. Now, the firm is seeing a big push for integrated optimization design with very efficient systems and increased renewables. In addition, LEED v4 includes a new integrative pro- cess credit, which mirrors the intent of integrative design: to support high-performance, cost-effective project outcomes based on the interrelationships among systems, including building envelope, lighting, and HVAC. “There is also a movement toward giving social equity equal importance in triple-bottom-line assessments.” GREEN TRENDS. Solar is still the big renewable, according to Parry, but geothermal and wind energy are continu- ing to grow in popularity. In addition, more radiant energy is being used in buildings to reduce transport energy. Anica Landreneau, global director of sustainable con- sulting, HOK (St. Louis, MO), a 1,600-person global de- sign, architecture, engineering and planning firm, is an expert on sustainable design best practices and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating systems. She works with public- and private-sector clients on campus and master planning, individual buildings, and real estate portfolios. Landreneau says that, while solar energy is cer- tainly gaining some efficiencies on the research and

Paul Parry, Principal & Client Executive, KJWW

Engineering Consultants.

Anica Landreneau,

Global Director of Sustainable Consulting, HOK.

Lincoln Pierce, Principal, KJWW

Engineering Consultants.

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IS ATLANTA UP TO THE CHALLENGE? The ordinance also complements

the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, an initiative developed to further President Obama’s goal of boosting energy efficiency in the built-environment. By joining the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, building owners and managers pledge to save energy and water 20 percent by 2030 in their selected buildings. The Atlanta BBC team works with the owners of these buildings to provide incentives such as free building assessments, education and training courses, access to project financing opportunities and more. There are no fees associated with participation in the Atlanta BBC, nor are there third-party certification requirements. BBC participants commit to: ❚ ❚ Publicly pledge a building-specific energy savings goal and develop a plan and schedule. ❚ ❚ Identify a building energy savings project (via the building assessment provided by the Atlanta BBC program) and implement the project.

A sustainable Atlanta Southern city has already made strides toward its goal of reducing consumption and emissions by 2030.

a joint initiative by the Institute for Market Transformation, a Washing- ton, D.C.–based nonprofit, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Atlanta is paving the way for oth- er cities to take advantage of the significant environmental and eco- nomic benefits that come with mak- ing city skylines more energy effi- cient,” said Melissa Wright, director of the City Energy Project at NRDC, in a press release. “This ordinance is tailor-made for Atlanta, taking best practices from other cities and refin- ing them to meet local needs. It will not only reduce harmful air pollu- tion that threatens public health, but drive local job creation, and help the city and building owners lower their energy bills.” That’s not all. The new ordinance also ties into the “Power to Change” – At- lanta’s citywide sustainability initia- tive that seeks to make the Southeast a top-tier sustainable region in the U.S. Atlanta has already accomplished:

By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent A tlanta was the 12th U.S. city to implement a benchmarking leg- islation to help it reduce commer- cial energy consumption and carbon emissions and boost its economy. The ordinance targets a 20 percent reduc- tion in commercial energy consump- tion and a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2013 levels by 2030, the plan also aims to cre- ate more than 1,000 jobs annually for the first few years. The benchmarking legislation re- quires building owners to report their properties’ energy use annual- ly. Using this data, owners will com- plete an online energy audit every 10 years to assess potential perfor- mance improvements. That data will be made available to the public, al- lowing the market to recognize, re- ward, and push for more energy-ef- ficient buildings. The city is expected to begin reporting data for its prop- erties in the fall. The ordinance is part of Atlanta’s work under the City Energy Project,

❚ ❚ Share utility data with the US Department of Energy, as well as information about the tools,

technologies, and processes they used to implement projects and reach their pledge goal In accordance with the Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge, the Atlanta BBC will commit to: ❚ ❚ Provide energy efficient implementation technical assistance to help participants identify opportunities and achieve their pledge ❚ ❚ Establish a marketplace of energy efficient stakeholders such as government, industry, service providers, financial institutions, and technology resources in order to transform the market and realize the full economic and environmental benefits of energy efficient projects ❚ ❚ Publicly recognize partners and participants for their progress in achieving milestones and reaching goals through various marketing and PR initiatives ❚ ❚ Provide educational resources for building owners, managers and operators For more information, visit atlantabbc.com .

See ATLANTA , page 8

ULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING , from page 5

save energy and money, minimize the carbon footprint, and increase the lifespan of the project. Foster weighs in, too: ❚ ❚ When underground storage tanks or hazardous waste site remedies are not proceeding through the site-closure process in a timely manner, a professional review of the remedy (how the site will be remediated) and monitoring program (sam- pling events during and after remediation) can often acceler- ate site closure and may reduce the client’s risk and cost. ❚ ❚ For clients operating multiple properties or facilities across multiple states, Kleinfelder’s Global Technical Network has provided clients with a programmatic approach, which pro- vides streamlined, single-point-of-contact contracting, consis- tent methodologies, site-specific solutions, quality assurance, and competitive pricing through efficiencies of scale. ❚ ❚ When clients have complex and tough problems, they need support from highly qualified technical specialists that can provide creative and innovative solutions using proven tech- nologies that will gain regulatory support without exposing clients to experimental or research approaches.

WHY HIRE AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT? Flood provides a few examples of work and clients with which the firm has expe- rience: ❚ ❚ For cities served by combined sewer systems, green infra- structure – such as right-of-way bioswales and stormwater green streets – Hatch Mott MacDonald has helped prevent sewage from overflowing into waterways when snow or rain- fall is heavy. It has worked with clients to integrate green infrastructure into traditional solutions to maximize project value. ❚ ❚ Hatch Mott MacDonald’s environmental consulting work has seen an increased focus on the protection and restoration of coastlines, the development of port and harbor infrastruc- ture, and navigation-related projects. At a time when ports and coastal infrastructure are increasingly multimodal, a life- cycle design approach adds long-term value and protects the environment through resilient infrastructure. ❚ ❚ The firm has provided solutions for existing infrastructures to

GREEN , from page 6

ATLANTA , from page 7

impacts of material chemistry on human health. The Liv- ing Building Challenge employs a Red List to prohibit specific materials, and LEED v4 requires environmental product declarations, health product declarations, or third-party dis- closure certifications, such as Cradle2Cradle. Landreneau agrees with Parr about industry changes. “In the past, being more efficient than code or getting LEED certification (or comparable) was perceived as green. Now, the market has become more sophisticated and the mag- nitude of our environmental challenges has become more apparent,” she says. “Today, there is a sense that ‘green,’ or true sustainability, must be reaching toward net zero, re- generative and resilient design. What we considered ‘green’ a couple of years ago is the new baseline. This is confirmed by increasing adoption of green codes, such as IgCC, that ac- tually make design and construction criteria roughly equiv- alent to a LEED Certified or Silver rating the legal baseline for new construction. There is also a movement toward giv- ing social equity equal importance in triple-bottom-line as- sessments, whereas before there was more of an emphasis on balancing the environmental and economic issues, al- most to exclusion of social impacts.” AN EYE ON ENERGY USERS. Lincoln Pearce, principal at KJWW, reports that more cities are adopting energy reporting ordi- nances that require public buildings of certain sizes to pub- licly disclose their building energy consumption. “Owners of large commercial buildings across the U.S. are increasingly facing public scrutiny of their facilities’ energy use. Energy reporting ordinances – which require disclosure of a building’s energy consumption – are now in effect in 14 cities from coast to coast,” Pearce says. “Beyond mere compliance, these municipalities hope that putting building energy use on public display will motivate (some would say ‘shame’) owners of inefficient, energy-wasting properties to make improvements – resulting in cleaner, more energy-efficient communities and lower utility costs for tenants.”

❚ ❚ 48 percent urban tree canopy ❚ ❚ 30,000 cleantech jobs in Metro Atlanta ❚ ❚ 64 percent of residents within a quarter-mile walk of green space ❚ ❚ 42,000+ certified EarthCraft housing units ❚ ❚ 50 percent of jobs in city within half-mile walk of public tran- sit ❚ ❚ 4,777 acres of parks ❚ ❚ 65 public electric vehicle charging stations ❚ ❚ 66 miles of bike lanes and trails

❚ ❚ 25 farmers markets ❚ ❚ 385 LEED facilities Future goals include:

❚ ❚ Water management. Assess and track 20 percent of peren- nial streams annually, reduce stormwater runoff by 6.4 million gallons annually per 1-inch storm, and achieve a 20 percent reduction in per capita citywide water consumption by 2020. ❚ ❚ Air quality. Meet or exceed the National Ambient Air Qual- ity Standard for ozone by year-end 2015, meet or exceed the 2012 NAAQS for fine particles by 2015, increase the number of clean commuters by 25 percent during two week smog sea- son clean commuter challenge, and achieve a citywide green- house gas emissions reduction of 15 percent by 2020. ❚ ❚ Energy efficiency and renewables. Increase the number of residents actively completing home energy audits to 10 per- cent by 2015 year-end, triple the renewable capacity by 2015, and reduce citywide commercial building energy consumption 20 percent by 2020. ❚ ❚ Land use. Surpass and maintain a 50 percent engagement rate throughout city parks by 2015 end, and have all residents within a half-mile walking distance to a park or green space. For a more comprehensive list of accomplishments and plans, visit p2catl.com .

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

SUSTAINABILI TY ‘Green’ of the crop AIA’s Committee on the Environment recognizes Top 10 sustainable designs of 2015, which range from offices to schools to apartments to hospitals. By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent T he American Institute of Architects recently announced its top Committee on the Environment green projects of 2015. These awards honor the best in sustainable architecture and ecological design. AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Overland Partners | Hughes Warehouse Adaptive Reuse, San Antonio The 1917 Hughes Plumbing Ware- house was transformed into an inno- vative yet functional office and studio space. The renovation preserves the openness and industrial character of the original building, maintaining its expansive 18-feet ceilings and preex- isting structural grid.

The Miller Hull Partnership |The Bullitt Cen- ter, Seattle A multi-story office building, the goal of the Bullitt Center is to drive change in the marketplace faster and further by showing what’s possible today. The designers have created a demon- stration that a six-story building can achieve net-zero energy with a low life-cycle impact.

SERA Architects and CO Architects | Collab- orative Life Sciences Building for OHSU, PSU and OSU, Portland This $295 million building brings to- gether Oregon Health & Science Uni- versity, Oregon State University and Portland State University.

Interface Studio Architects and Urbanica De- sign | E+ // 226-232 Highland Street Townhouses, Boston A high-performance market-rate housing design, this net-zero project has super-insulated walls and pays at- tention to minimizing air infiltration and reducing energy usage in order to reduce the sizing of the renewables, exemplifying high performance and style.

Diamond Schmitt | CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory, Hamilton, Ontario This state-of-the-art metallurgical fa- cility for Natural Resources Canada achieved LEED Platinum certification for sustainable design and is targeting the 2030 Challenge.

RTKL | Military Medical Hospital, San Antonio This Veterans Affairs project exhibits a strong sensibility to sustainable prac- tice throughout its high-intensity pro- gram, comprised of in-patient beds, a national burn center and a surgical re- search center.

See AIA , page 10

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

LEED LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN The U.S. Green Building Council was founded in 1993. The organization developed LEED certification in 2000. LEED certification provides independent third-party verification that a building, home, or community is designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance related to: Sustainable Sites Water Efficiency

AIA , from page 9

Eskew+Dumez+Ripple | New Orleans Bio- Innovation Center, New Orleans This building houses more than 30 companies in the next generation of innovators from Louisiana’s burgeon- ing life science community. As the first LEED Gold-certified laboratory build- ing in New Orleans, the Center offers 66,000 square feet of state-of-the-art wet-lab, office, and conference space to conceive and cultivate new biosci- ence ideas.

David Baker Architects | Tassafaronga Vil- lage, Oakland, Calif. This is a former industrial site that has been repurposed as an affordable housing development. The project provides a prototype for new housing in this community. Situated on seven- and-a-half acres in the southern end of Oakland, it offers a range of afford- able housing, green pathways, pock- et parks and open spaces. The devel- opment has achieved one of the first LEED ND Certified Gold Plans. All buildings are certified at the highest level of green standard — LEED for Homes Platinum — incorporating a wide range of complementary green strategies including solar power for on-site generation of electricity and hot water.

Discourages placing projects on previously undeveloped land and encourages minimizing the impact on the environment. Maximum points: 21

Encourages smarter use of water in the project’s interior and exterior.

Maximum points: 11

Energy & Atmosphere

Materials & Resources

Encourages energy-saving through strategies such as commissioning, energy-use monitoring, and efficient design and construction. Maximum points: 37 Environmental Quality Indoors Promotes strategies that improve indoor air quality and promote natural daylight and acoustics.

Encourages the selection of sustainably grown, harvested, produced, and transported products and materials.

Maximum points: 14

Regional Priority USGBC’s regional councils, chapters, and affiliates have identified the most important environmental concerns for their regions.

Maximum points: 4

Maximum points: 17

POSSIBLE POINTS

Innovation in Design*

Extra points are awarded for projects that use innovative technologies and strategies to improve a project’s performance. Maximum points: 6 RATING LEVELS

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Sweetwater Spectrum Community, Sonoma, Ca- lif. A community-based design project, this nearly three-acre property devel- opment is designed for adults with autism. The community includes four 3,240 sq. ft. 4-bedroom homes that provide each resident with their own bedroom and bathroom, plus shared common areas. Sweetwater Spectrum also consists of a 2,300-square-feet community center, 1-acre farm, green- house and large therapy pool.

CERTIFIED 40-49 pts

SILVER 50-59 pts

GOLD 60-79 pts SILVER 50-59 pts TOP 10 STATES FOR LEED , 2014 Ill. Population: 12,830,632** 2014: 3.31 sq. ft. certified per person Colo. Population: 5,029,196** 2014: 3.14 sq. ft. certified per person Md. Population: 5,773,552** 2014: 2.7 sq. ft. certified per person Va. Population: 8,001,024** 2014: 2.33 sq. ft. certified per person Mass. Population: 6,547,629** 2014: 2.24 sq. ft. certified per person Hi. Population: 1,360,301** 2014: 1.95 sq. ft. certified per person Calif. Population: 37,253,956** 2014: 1.87 sq. ft. certified per person Ga. Population: 9,687,653** 2014: 1.83 sq. ft. certified per person Minn. Az. & N.Y. Population: 5,303,925** 2014: 1.79 sq. ft. certified per person Populations: 6,392,017 & 19,378,102** 2014: 1.74 sq. ft. certified per person

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | University Center – The New School, New York City This is a successful urban building that uses manipulation of the build- ing form to support the sustainability agenda. It is a 16-story, approximate- ly 375,000-square-foot building. The center meets LEED Gold standards, making it one of the greenest build- ings in New York and one of the green- est academic buildings in the country.

LEARN MORE ... ❚ ❚ aiatopten.org ❚ ❚ aia.org/cote ❚ ❚ architectmagazine.com/awards

TALK TO US

❚ ❚ http://www.acsa-arch.org/programs-events/ competitions/2014 -2015-cote-top-ten-for- students

Tell us your thoughts on sustainable design @ZweigLetter #sustainability.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

CALENDAR AUGUST 2015 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY

conference/ seminar/course

webinar

award

deadline

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

WHAT DO YOU DO

WHEN THERE ARE CHANGES ON THE JOB? IMPACTS & INEFFICIENCES 1:30pm ET; acec. org/calendar

STORMCOM Aug. 2-6; Austin, Texas; cenews.com/event/404/stormcon

CREATING A SAFETY CULTURE IN YOUR COMPANY 2pm ET; agc.org/learn/ education-training/ events

HOW NEXT- GEN CEOS

AVOID THE LEADERSHIP

ARE MANAGING FOR THE FUTURE 2pm ET; construction.com/ events /2015/

PITFALLS OF OVER- THINKING 1:30pm ET; acec.org/ calendar/calendar - webinars

FEDERAL PROJECT DELIVERY SYMPOSIUM Aug. 18-20; Washington, DC; cenews.com/event/405/federal -project-

delivery-symposium

BUILD BUSINESS Aug. 19-20; Los Angeles; cenews.com/event/406/

build -business

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: HOT FIRM & AEC INDUSTRY AWARDS CONFERENCE zweiggroup.

com/conference ; event: Sept. 3-4, Boston

CREATING A FINANCIALLY

EMERGING TECHNOLO-

INTELLIGENT CULTURE THROUGH OPEN-BOOK MANAGEMENT 1pm ET; acec.org/ calendar/calendar - webinars

GIES FOR ENGI- NEERS 1:30pm ET; acec.org/calendar/ calendar -webinars

IBTTA ANNUAL MEETING Aug. 30-Sept. 2; Dublin, Ireland; cenews.com/event/415/ibtta -annual-meeting

APWA CONGRESS Aug. 30-Sept. 2; Phoenix; cenews. com/event/407/apwa -congress

TALK TO US Have some feedback on a recent A/E/P or environmental event? Send your review to abennett@zweiggroup.com for inclusion in TZL . And, if a calendar item is missing, please let us know! Send your event list to Andrea Bennett, too.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

Financial statements 2015 Financial Performance Survey includes new data for ‘very high profit, high profit, average profit, and low profit/loss’ firms so leaders can see how their firms compare. P U B L I C AT I O N S

By JAMIE CLAIRE KISER Zweig Group Director of M&A Services

RESPONDENTS’ DEMOGRAPHICS One hundred three A/E/P and environmental consulting firms submitted valid questionnaires for Zweig Group’s 2015 Financial Performance Survey . 40 percent were Multidiscipline Engineering firms 22 percent were Architecture or Interiors firms 11 percent were Full-service Engineering or A/E firms 11 percent were Environmental Consulting firms 6 percent were Single-discipline Engineering firms 5 percent were A/E (primarily architecture) firms 6 percent categorized themselves as Other

It seems that, in 2014, the architecture, engineer- ing, planning, and environmental consulting in- dustry as a whole turned the corner from recover- ing from the recession to beginning a new and ex- citing growth phase – firms reported performance that reaches pre-recession levels in many of the metrics measured in Zweig Group’s 2015 Financial Per- formance Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environ- mental Consulting Firms . The outlook for future perfor- mance is also encouraging. Global construction output, a main driver for architectural and engi- neering services, is projected to grow by more than 70 percent to $15 trillion by 2025, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The firms that survived the recession learned valu- able lessons about operating efficiently and finding creative ways to generate business. Lean business models, entrepreneurial thinking, and a growth cycle can all benefit the bottom line for firms in this industry. However, to achieve these bene- fits, firms need context, and that’s what the S ur- vey is all about. Did other A/E/P and environmen- tal consulting firms perform financially like yours last year? What segments or specialties held their own or improved? In what areas is your firm better or worse than its peers? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in the 2015 Finan- cial Performance Survey . The 2015 Survey tracks firms’ performance on nearly 100 indicators, including financial, personnel, and growth measures. Each datum is described in de- tail, and each section ends with a summary of the findings. Key financial measures are broken down for firms by region, specialty, size, growth rate, and client base. Each measure is quantified with actual mean, median, lower quartile, and upper quartile performance, meaning that an executive can com- pare his or her company’s performance to the best, worst, or mid-grade performers. Zweig Group made changes to the 2015 Survey that will allow readers to understand their firm’s per- formance in greater context than ever before. This year’s Survey includes a new field: profitability. For the first time, the Survey includes mean, medi- an, and lower and upper quartile performance for very high profit, high profit, average profit, and low profit/loss firms across all metrics. Zweig Group’s

26 percent had 25-49 employees

24 percent had 1-24 employees

20 percent had 100-249 employees

16 percent had 50-99 employees

10 percent had 250-499 employees

4 percent had 500+ employees

goal is help firm leaders benchmark their organiza- tions to the leading performers in all facets of op- erations. Readers should resist the urge to pat themselves on the back for “beating the average”: If you don’t want to be an “average” firm, don’t compare yourself to average performers. Comparing your firm’s key fi- nancial metrics to upper quartile performance lev- els can help you identify the performance gaps be- tween your firm and its best-in-class peers. Using the survey as a guide, firm leaders can identify op- portunities, set financial goals, and develop action plans to achieve these goals. Firms can use the Financial Performance Survey not only to target internal initiatives, investments, and im- provement efforts based on their best performing peers, but also to help determine whether their op- erational and financial performance metrics are moving in the right direction.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 20, 2015, ISSUE 1112

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