Design Professionals Beware: Don’t Get Squashed by a Carbon Footprint Tax
Across the US and Canada there is increased legislation being considered or enacted to impose a carbon tax on building owners for excessive emissions from fossil fuel burning equipment. Far beyond settling for a LEED Silver plaque in lieu of Gold when project sustainability goals were not fully achieved, the financial penalties for noncompliance are significant. An unsuspecting design professional can suddenly be on the defensive when actual carbon emissions and the resultant penalties exceed expectations and building owners look for retribution. In this session we will outline ways to protect your firm when designing new or renovated buildings including educating owners while establishing emission targets, mitigating the risk of failing to achieve targets and structuring construction documents to apportion risk appropriately to avoid getting squashed by the carbon footprint.
Presenter:
- Patrick Murphy (Vanderweil)