Structural engineers adapt design and construction methods that change with economics, materials, and current research available to shape the built environment—quite literally. From the carved stone used to build the pyramids to the concrete dome of the Pantheon, our profession has answered the evolving needs of society with ingenuity and resolve. And in the wake of disasters, like the 1994 Northridge earthquake, we respond with creative solutions to keep our communities safe. We observe, gather data, calculate risk, develop design formulas, and establish code changes. As storms grow and disasters worsen, our capabilities are needed and we are called to act.
Today, we stand on the brink of another major shift and face a new defining challenge. One that isn’t sudden but accelerating. The science is clear: our development systems use up vast resources, disrupt ecosystems, and create an imbalance of greenhouse gases destabilizing our climate. Concrete and steel, principal materials that define our profession, are among the most carbon-intensive on Earth—contributing upwards of 15% of global emissions. That is six times that of aviation! Continuing to build as we have will use up remaining carbon budgets needed elsewhere.
And yet, at this existential threshold is an incredible opportunity.
Material advancements, smarter design strategies, and emerging policies are opening the door to better collaboration and more efficient, lower-impact structures. This shift needs structural engineers, and embracing this challenge is a way towards purpose and resilient business practice.
The Structural Engineering Institute’s (SEI) SE 2050 Commitment Program was founded to support structural engineers in this pivotal moment. The vision of SE 2050 is to lead a transition of the structural engineering profession towards a net zero future. Since SE 2050 was established in 2020, the topic of embodied carbon has gone from rogue to vogue to California code. While structural engineers were traditionally left out of sustainability discussions, that is quickly changing as the environmental impacts of structural materials become better understood.
Addressing embodied carbon in the built environment is an opportunity to show the societal value of our profession and advance our other core principles: economic and sustainable use of resources, the use of innovative technologies, and the creation of inspiring structures.
Now in its fifth year, SE 2050 has over 150 firms of all sizes across more than 30 states signed on to the commitment. These Signatory Firms are showcasing an evolution of the structural engineering profession and sit at the forefront of adopting efficient design approaches and building technologies.
It’s important that structural engineers use our voice because we’re often the only ones that know what we know on a project. It’s structural engineers like Fraser Reid at Buro Happold who can evaluate the inefficiency of column transfers. It’s structural engineers like Alexis Feitel at KL&A who can say that steel can be salvaged. It’s structural engineers like Anthony Dente at Verdant inventing very low-carbon straw panels. And it’s structural engineers like Don Davies at Davies-Crooks Associates that specify the performance characteristics of concrete. All of these structural engineers are members of SE 2050 Signatory Firms, amongst many others showcasing advancement of the profession.
Engaging on embodied carbon puts front and center the importance of several themes:
Efficiency and Cost Savings: Optimizing designs to reduce material use, engineers lower project costs while reducing embodied carbon. This puts engineers at the table earlier in the design process.
Adaptive Reuse and Existing Buildings: In 2022, architects made more revenue from renovations than new builds. There’s growing potential in retrofitting and repurposing existing structures.
Circularity and Material Reuse: Developing skills in deconstructing and reusing materials from existing buildings creates new revenue streams and value-added services.
Lastly, beyond the rational engineering assessment, this work has a resounding positive impact on people. Nearly two out of three people in the U.S. have a sense of personal responsibility toward climate change, but over half don’t know where to take action. For firm leaders, the power to influence our industry towards a better future offers a lasting legacy. And for young engineers, this work is an opportunity to grow in a career developing solutions to address the generation’s biggest challenge. SE 2050 is building a culture of collaboration that recognizes everyone has a role.
Start Small and Get Involved!
If you feel motivated to act, join SE 2050! SE 2050 Signatory Firms publicly share their accomplishments through annually updated Embodied Carbon Action Plans, which outline each firm’s approach to staff education, project impact tracking, reduction targets, and advocacy for embodied carbon-conscious design. These action plans—alongside free resources for advancing design and specification practices—are available on the website, se2050.org. Another key resource published this year is the SE 2050 Commitment Program: 2023 Data Analysis and Findings Report. The findings provide insights on design parameters that most greatly influence embodied carbon.
You can also join us in person. Later this month, the Towards Zero Carbon 2025: Summit and Symposium will be held in Boulder, Colorado. This event will take education into action, bringing together firms collaboratively working to advance structural engineering towards best practices and technologies that foster sustainable, efficient resource use.
This year’s Towards Zero Carbon Summit will include three key tracks:
- Embodied Carbon Bootcamp—Ideal for engineers beginning their embodied carbon education journey.
- SE 2050 Signatory Firm Summit—A first-ever in-person gathering of SE 2050 Signatory Firms to exchange ideas and shape the program’s future.
- Firm Leader Roundtable—A collaborative space for leadership to drive sustainable transformation in our industry.
These tracks ensure structural engineers of all experience levels can engage, whether they’re just starting their sustainability journey, seeking deeper connections within the SE 2050 network, or guiding their firm’s evolving strategy.
The structural engineering profession is being shaped by the societal shifts occurring as a result of a warming world, while also influencing changes to advance design and construction practices towards a net zero future. SE 2050 provides a framework, and its Signatories show a path forward with tools available now. Whether you’re optimizing a new design or reimagining an old one, this is structural engineering’s moment to lead.