As you may know this year’s AIA National Convention is to be held in Atlanta, GA from May 14-16.

As part of the convention, Architecture 2030 partner ENERGY STAR is giving architects of high-performance buildings a great opportunity to showcase their work on a national stage, win prizes, and verify their progress towards the 2030 Challenge for Buildings targets and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

There are three simple steps to participating in the ENERGY STAR Green Your Blueprint Challenge:

1. Enter your design or new construction projects in Portfolio Manager - ENERGY STAR’s online tool to measure and track energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions - to see if it achieves Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition, and meets the 2030 Challenge for Buildings targets
2. Submit projects that achieve Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition for the Green Your Blueprint Challenge on or before April 1, 2015.
3. Challenge your colleagues at other architecture/engineering (A/E) firms to enter their projects as well

There will be three categories of winners:

• the A/E firm with the most approved Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR projects (submitted by the 1 April 2015 deadline)
• the A/E firm whose challenges to other firms produced the most approved Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR projects
• the A/E firm whose Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR  project wins the most votes on the competition’s Pinterest board.

The winning firms will receive a personalized ENERGY STAR crystal award, while the winners and all participating firms and projects will be featured in the ENERGY STAR Gallery at the AIA National Convention in Atlanta.

The 2030 Challenge and the Green Your Blueprint Challenge

As well as the chance to win awards, receive national exposure, and achieve Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition for your projects, the Green Your Blueprint Challenge will also help you track your progress on your 2030 Challenge for Buildings targets and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

In addition to showing if your project achieves Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition, ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager shows how your projects are performing against the 2030 Challenge for Buildings targets - important both for the self-monitoring element of adopting the 2030 Challenge and the reporting requirements of the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Enter you project in Portfolio Manager today, and get an externally verified account of your project’s energy efficiency as compared to established national standards.

> Learn more about the ENERGY STAR Green Your Blueprint Challenge.