Partnering with Innovators

Beyond our products and operations, Autodesk® is working to build awareness and boost adoption of sustainable design practices. Through public and private partnerships, we provide technology and support for initiatives that promote sustainable design.

We are involved in a wide range of efforts in this area, including the following:

U.S. Green Building Council

In 2006, Autodesk began a strategic collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Together, USGBC and Autodesk pursue opportunities to integrate Autodesk’s technology with the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, to help the building industry more easily and rapidly meet goals for reduced environmental impact. To accelerate adoption of sustainable design practices, Autodesk and the USGBC plan to share the results of their partnership with the building industry.

See information in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction section about our recent collaboration with the USGBC which investigated how modeling, analysis, and LEED credit validation could converge into an improved design process.

China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development

Autodesk is a Founders’ Circle member of this public-private partnership focused on accelerating sustainable development in China and the United States. The organization aims to create sustainable enterprises and provides training to build capabilities for sustainable development.

e²: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious

Autodesk is sponsoring the documentary series e²: the economies of being environmentally conscious for the third consecutive year to increase awareness of sustainable design as a part of the solution to global environmental challenges. The series, produced by kontentreal, is comprised of half-hour episodes filmed in high definition (HD) and covers topics including design, energy, water, food, transportation and places. Airing nationwide in the United States on public television (PBS), the show is also distributed internationally and via download through iTunes.

The first season, originally broadcast in 2006, focused on design and covered subjects such as the population and industrialization boom in China; Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's campaign to make his city the greenest in the United States; and the efforts of architects Ken Yeang, Werner Sobek, and William McDonough to make radical changes in architecture and environmentalism.

The second season includes 12 episodes in two parts. The first part, e² energy, features the engineers, policymakers and innovations that are transforming energy availability and consumption. Each episode covers viable policy and technology alternatives to the use of fossil fuels. The second part, e² design season two, features designers and drivers of change in sustainable architecture. Each episode looks at the built environment's ecological effects, and design innovations that can reduce buildings' contributions to climate change.

Autodesk is also sponsoring season three of e², which will again have two parts. e² design continues the discussion of sustainable design in the built environment. e² transportation focuses on solutions for transportation’s impact on the environment globally. Season three episodes will be released in fall 2008.

For more information about the e² series, visit www.e2-series.com.

AIA150

Autodesk is the official software sponsor of AIA150, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the premier professional organization for America's architects. The primary effort of the AIA150 is the Blueprint for America, a nationwide community service initiative that brings together AIA architects, citizens, and leaders from 156 communities to address specific needs related to design and livability, and create a shared vision for current and future design priorities.

Blueprint projects range from bus-stop makeovers in Oklahoma and disaster preparedness planning in Tennessee to a new expressway corridor in Brooklyn and affordable housing in Wisconsin. Case studies from individual Blueprint projects will be shared with local officials interested in implementing similar programs in their communities. The completed piece, titled “Blueprint for America Mosaic: A Gift to the Nation,” was presented in 2008 at the AIA conference.

Designers Accord

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, researchers, engineers, business consultants, and corporations who are working together to “catalyze innovation throughout the creative community by collectively building our intelligence around sustainability.” Autodesk was the founding corporate adopter and helped revise the Designers Accord principles to be relevant for corporations.

Participants of the accord agree to follow five guidelines, covering public declaration of commitment, strategic and material alternatives for sustainable design, education about sustainability and sustainable design, greenhouse gas footprint assessment and reduction, and knowledge sharing about sustainable design.

So far, more than 100,000 members of the creative community representing each design discipline and from 100 countries around the world have joined the Designers Accord.

Envisioning Change

Autodesk was the title sponsor of the traveling exhibition Envisioning Change, hosted by the Natural World Museum and the United Nations Environment Programme. The exhibition offers perspectives on climate change from more than 40 artists from 25 countries around the world. The media used in the exhibit range from photographs, paintings, and sculpture to multimedia and conceptual installations.

The exhibit looks at climate change from a worldwide perspective, chronicling the effect of global warming on the ecosystems and communities of the polar regions, the Andes, and the Himalayas. The goal of the exhibit is to increase awareness of the effect of climate change on the world’s coldest regions and to inspire changes in behavior that can slow it down.

An estimated 1.2 million people viewed the traveling exhibition in Oslo, Norway; Brussels, Belgium; and Chicago, United States.

Public Policy

We participate in the public policy debate on issues that affect our company, including those related to sustainable design. For example, we met with policy makers in the United States as they considered H.R. 121 and S. 506, which were integrated into the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public law No. 110-140, 121 Stat. 1492, Dec. 19, 2007), to provide information on “green building” design and developments in the architectural and construction fields. See the Public Policy section in Responsible Business for more information.