On May 11, 2023, Arcadis’ Principals May Wei and Lily Wei attended the Workshop on City Carbon Neutral Best Practices in Shanghai. The event was jointly organized by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and the Energy Foundation, aiming to promote exchanges about carbon neutrality between cities, to better engage cities in pursuing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and to achieve optimal economic efficiency, social equity and climate resilience on a journey towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
Ms. May Wei gave a speech on the theme of “Shaping a Better World: Arcadis’ Net-Zero Buildings and ESG Cases”. She said that Arcadis, as a designer of the built environment, is dedicated to the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement to “limit warming to well below 2℃, and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5℃ “. As a large multinational company, we have the responsibility to play a role in implementing solutions to address climate change, and strive to achieve zero energy consumption and zero emission in our projects and operations.
“Performance Driven Design” is Arcadis’ approach to sustainable design. Our purpose is to create high-performance designs that enhance the value of the built environment while reducing the impact on the natural environment. May also introduced the design practices of Arcadis in the area of net zero buildings and ESG.
Terminal 2 at Guadalajara Airport — A net-zero building
The Terminal 2 at Guadalajara Airport, a net-zero transportation hub, was designed to substantially reduce CO2 emissions to as low as 2,814 metric tons annually, compared to 30,188 tons, the average annual emission by all medium-sized terminals, making it one of the most eco-friendly medium-sized terminals. By using solar panels, daylighting, natural ventilation and shading, combined with economizer cooling, high performance mechanical systems and building management systems, the airport’s energy use has been reduced by 60%, and its carbon footprint reduced by 90%, the equivalent of planting 27,300 trees each year.
The project was awarded the Civic Citation Award at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) NEXTLA Awards 2021, and was recognized as one of the “World’s Top 10 Sustainably Designed Airports” by Dezeen.
Shanghai UniPark MAX – An ESG Case
UniPark MAX, located in the heart of Shanghai’s Zhenru Subcenter, is the city’s largest integrated urban regeneration project. By incorporating “green” elements throughout the project, Arcadis is committed to shaping more sustainable urban architecture. UniPark MAX prioritizes the fundamental needs of preserving traditional culture, protecting natural ecosystems, and developing community space. The architectural and landscape design has fully realized the integration of Zhenru’s humanistic and historical charm into modern commercial space by incorporating a 500-year-old ginkgo tree, the Zhenru Temple, an urban green corridor and additional cultural resources. Furthermore, the design emphasizes organic combination with green technology. It fully considers functions and environment integration, comprehensive utilization of multiple resources, promotion of indoor environmental quality, and perceptibility of healthy green. In addition, the use of several innovative green building technologies demonstrates Arcadis’ commitment to environmental responsibility.
WORKSHOP
Group discussions were held on different topics. As regard to a discussion on the topic “Urban Carbon Peaking & Carbon neutrality Best Practices”, the first group of guests introduced a number of best practices: the Meilong San Cun Low-Carbon Community at Xuhui, Shanghai, the Puyun Community at Pudong, the “Tan Hui Tian Fu” green platform at Chengdu, and the package of measures taken by the Shenzhen government to promote the high-quality development of green & low-carbon industries, and the sustainable fashion industry. The second group of guests discussed the premium of green products, how to pursue carbon neutrality, store energy and build zero-carbon parks in a cost-effective manner, and the indispensable role played by NGOs in this field, and proposed several policy recommendations for achieving a synergy in the journey towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The third group of guests covered such topics as NEVs, technological breakthroughs, low-carbon park construction and commercial operation models.
Today, the ESG investment concept has become a prevailing consensus in the international community; however, extreme climates, destruction of biological habitats, loss of diversity of species, and environmental pollution are still threatening our planet. Arcadis, the leading global enterprise in architecture and urbanism, is promoting and practicing sustainable development through our design strategies and operations, by leveraging our design expertise and capabilities. We are committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions, leveling off the carbon emission curve, creating a cleaner, greener future, and protecting our planet with science-based, data-driven approaches and cutting-edge digital designs.