Just like tax season, our sustainability commitments involve annual reporting each spring. This provides an opportunity to reflect on both progress and constraints of the previous year, and to take stock of all that was achieved. Glotman Simpson is proud to be a signatory of the Structural Engineering Institute’s SE2050 movement and the Climate Smart Buildings Alliance Responsible Buildings Pact (RBP). We have just finished our reporting for the 2025 calendar year and are pleased to reaffirm our ongoing commitment through 2026 and beyond.

SE 2050

(https://se2050.org/program_goals/)

We have been a member of SE2050 since 2021. As a part of a network of structural engineering firms across North America, the ability to share knowledge – both technical design strategies and industry knowledge sharing — with others has been incredibly valuable in developing the many internal initiatives we now have in our firm (including this blog series!). The operational impact of this commitment is best described in the introductory text from this year’s Embodied Carbon Action Plan (ECAP):

“2025 marked a turning point. For the first time, embodied carbon was not a separate conversation — it was simply part of how we design. Since becoming an early signatory to SE2050 in 2021, we’ve spent the past several years building the tools, knowledge, and internal alignment needed to meaningfully reduce embodied carbon in our projects. This year, that foundation translated into action. The integration felt natural, and the outcomes more consistent.

Whether driven by evolving regulations or a broader sense of responsibility to the public, the industry is clearly reaching a point of readiness. The question is no longer if we act, but how well we do it. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made as a firm and of the systems now in place to support continued improvement. Our hope is that this ECAP offers  practical insight—something others can build on as we move forward together.”

The formal ECAPs from all of the participants are usually available within a few months of the reporting deadline at this link: https://se2050.org/signatory-firms/

We will share our 2025 ECAP once it is published. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore submissions from Glotman Simpson and the other signatory firms. If you are a structural engineer and not yet involved, we would definitely encourage you to look into it. And, if you are outside the discipline, there are similar programs emerging across the AEC industry worth exploring.

Responsible Buildings Pact

(Responsible Buildings Pact | Climate Smart Buildings Alliance)

CSBA’s RBP takes a slightly different approach to reducing embodied carbon in buildings, focusing directly on project processes, ensuring firms have a framework in place to allow production discussion and consideration of low-carbon design opportunities on every project.

Among the most valuable parts of this process is collecting information on hurdles that are encountered during these processes. This enables constructive feedback with the initiative’s partners in the industry – delivering valuable lessons to CSBA’s partners, which can be used in the continued development of lower-carbon materials and processes.

Together, these two commitments keep us grounded and on a clear path to delivering lower-carbon building structures. SE2050 builds our technical knowledge, while the RBP strengthens how we apply it in real projects. This combination helps us work more effectively with our teams and push for significant and meaningful emissions reductions in our designs.

We are always happy to talk about this work or low-carbon design more broadly. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or via the email below — we’d love to connect.

Written by Rory Roberts – Director of Sustainability

Together, we can contribute to a more sustainable built environment. If you are interested in sustainability and would like to discuss any of the topics in this article, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

For more information on our sustainability initiatives and to stay updated on our latest projects, visit our website and follow our OnTrack blog series.