What Architecture 2030 does

Architecture 2030 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2002 and headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, focused on transforming the global built environment from the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions to a central climate solution. The organization serves architecture, engineering, and planning firms, local/state/national governments, architecture educators, urban districts, and building materials manufacturers through a portfolio of free tools, frameworks, standards, and educational programs. Its primary constituencies are professionals designing buildings and policymakers regulating them.

Its technology portfolio consists of web-based calculators and reference databases—including the CARE Tool (Carbon Avoided: Retrofit Estimator), Zero Tool (energy use benchmarking), 2030 Palette, and Carbon Smart Materials Palette—alongside formal building standards such as Zero Code and policy frameworks including Achieving Zero and the Climate Action Planning Framework. The organization also produces research products drawing on tens of thousands of design project data points (e.g., the 2030 Beyond the Numbers report covering 30,000+ projects) and runs educational offerings such as the AIA+2030 Online Series and CarbonPositive conference. No public APIs, SDKs, or machine-learning components are present.

The revenue model is donation-driven. Architecture 2030 operates a multi-tier underwriter program (Anchor, Catalyst, Supporting, Contributing) drawing primarily from architecture and engineering firms, supplemented by individual donations. Named Anchor Underwriters include SOM, SmithGroup, DLR Group, HOK, and Mithun. All tools and resources are provided free of charge; revenue is generated entirely through underwriter and donor support. The organization pursues adoption through thought leadership (monthly column in Architect magazine reaching 80,000+ AIA members), international convenings (COP28, COP29, NYC Climate Week), and direct policy engagement.

Name

Architecture 2030

Legal name

2030, Inc. / Architecture 2030

Website

https://architecture2030.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Architecture 2030 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 that develops free decarbonization tools, building standards, policy frameworks, and educational programs for architects, engineers, planners, and policymakers working to eliminate emissions from the global built environment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Building Software and Decarbonization Frameworks

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Net-Zero Target Setting & SBTi/Net-Zero Standard Support (EUABAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Target-Setting, Transition Planning & Performance Management Platforms (EUABAEAF), Decarbonization Strategy & Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) Advisory (EUABAKAC), Regulatory & Disclosure Strategy (CSRD/ESRS, ISSB/IFRS S2, SEC, TCFD) (EUABAKAH), Sector-Specific Net-Zero Pathways & Benchmarking (hard-to-abate methodologies) (EUABAKAI)

Keywords

• Building decarbonization
• Embodied carbon reduction
• Carbon neutral buildings
• Sustainable design frameworks
• Climate action planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Fe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Underwriter/Donor Program: Architecture 2030 operates primarily through underwriter support from architecture and engineering firms. Organizations become underwriters at various levels (Anchor, Catalyst, Supporting, Contributing) providing multi-year financial support. Individual donations are also accepted. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and donations are tax-deductible through 2030, Inc. / Architecture 2030.
2. Underwriting Tiers: Multi-tiered underwriter program including: Anchor Underwriters pledged through 2030 (DLR Group, SmithGroup, SOM, HOK, Mithun, WRNS, Frederick & Frederick, Arkin Tilt); Catalyst Underwriters 2025-2026 (ZGF, HKS); Supporting Underwriters 2025-2026 (LPA, HDR, Miller Hull, Payette, Corgan); Contributing Underwriters 2025-2026 (CannonDesign, Arcadis, Eskew Dumez Ripple, Lake Flato, Ayers Saint Gross, Mahlum, DCI Engineers, LMS).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Architecture 2030 develops and distributes free software tools, design and policy frameworks, building standards, and research reports that enable architecture/engineering firms and governments to design, measure, and decarbonize buildings. Core deliverables include the 2030 Challenge (a registered zero carbon building target), web-based calculators and databases (CARE Tool, Zero Tool, 2030 Palette, Carbon Smart Materials Palette), the Zero Code building standard, Achieving Zero and Climate Action Planning policy toolkits, and research reports such as 2030 Beyond the Numbers and Mass Timber Tipping Point.

Product overview

Architecture 2030 is a nonprofit research organization that has developed a comprehensive portfolio of initiatives, frameworks, tools, and educational programs to transform the built environment from a major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate crisis. The organization's offerings center on the 2030 Challenge, which establishes carbon reduction targets requiring all new buildings and major renovations to achieve zero carbon design. Supporting this core initiative are software tools including the CARE Tool for calculating building reuse carbon benefits, the Zero Tool for building energy benchmarking, the 2030 Palette and Carbon Smart Materials Palette for design guidance, and the Zero Code building standard. The portfolio also includes policy frameworks such as Achieving Zero for cities, the Climate Action Planning Framework for jurisdictions, and the Decarbonization Framework for Planning, Landscape, and Infrastructure. Research products like 2030 Beyond the Numbers and Mass Timber Tipping Point provide data-driven insights, while educational offerings including the AIA+2030 Online Series and CarbonPositive initiative build professional capacity. The organization also facilitates collaborative initiatives including the China Accord and 2030 Districts Network. The BEACON quarterly newsletter disseminates thought leadership across all these areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BEACON: Architecture 2030's quarterly eNewsletter spotlighting people, projects, and policies moving the built environment toward zero emissions.
• CARE Tool
• 2030 Palette
• Zero Tool
• Zero Code
• Carbon Smart Materials Palette

Products and services

• 2030 Challenge The foundational carbon reduction initiative establishing incremental targets for the building sector, now accelerated to require zero carbon design for all new buildings, developments, and major renovations to meet the 1.5°C climate target.
• CARE Tool (Carbon Avoided: Retrofit Estimator) Web-based calculator for estimating the embodied, operating, and avoided carbon impacts of reusing and upgrading existing buildings compared to replacing them with new construction. Used by building owners, designers, and policymakers to quantify climate benefits of building reuse.
• Zero Tool Online benchmarking tool for building professionals to compare a building's design or existing energy use intensity (EUI) with similar building types, understand how the EUI was achieved, and set reduction targets aligned with the 2030 Challenge.
• 2030 Palette Free online database of low-cost sustainable design strategies for zero carbon, adaptable, and resilient built environments worldwide, covering all scales from building to regional. Used by architects, planners, and designers.
• Carbon Smart Materials Palette Attribute-based approach to embodied carbon emissions reductions for major building elements, providing guidelines for designing low/no embodied carbon buildings and specifying low/no embodied carbon products. Used to guide building design, construction, and government procurement.
• Zero Code National and international zero carbon building standard applying to commercial, institutional, and mid- to high-rise residential buildings. Integrates cost-effective energy efficiency standards with on-site and/or off-site renewable energy. Adoptable by jurisdictions as a model building code.
• Achieving Zero How-to framework and toolkit enabling cities and sub-national governments to achieve emissions reduction targets in the building sector, providing integrated policies for phasing out CO2 emissions by 2040.
• Climate Action Planning Framework Framework supporting entities in developing, communicating, and implementing Climate Action Plans with adaptation and mitigation goals aimed at meeting global climate targets. Includes Explainer document and universal guidance for built environment professionals.
• Decarbonization Framework for Planning, Landscape, and Infrastructure Policy and practice framework providing key strategies to reduce embodied carbon in infrastructure, landscapes, and land use planning. Empowers planners and policymakers to address carbon emissions at regional, city, neighborhood, and development levels.
• 2030 Beyond the Numbers Research report drawing on in-depth practitioner interviews, independent quantitative analysis of over 30,000 U.S. design projects, and comprehensive literature review. Charts an Acceleration Pathway for the architecture profession's last mile to zero operating emissions.
• Mass Timber Tipping Point Two-year collaborative research project with 43 architecture and engineering firms investigating mass timber as an alternative low-carbon and carbon-storing material for commercial, institutional, and multi-family buildings. Includes final report and online resource library.
• AIA+2030 Online Series 10-course online education series for AIA continuing education credits, distributed through AIAU. Inspires architects to meet the 2030 Challenge and achieve zero carbon operations through design strategies, efficient technologies, and renewable energy resources.
• CarbonPositive Education initiative featuring the CarbonPositive RESET! 1.5°C Global Teach-In, a full-day how-to event focused on Paris Climate Agreement goals. Recordings available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
• Data Center Evaluation Checklist A global framework for site selection and development of data centers, addressing the intersection of digital infrastructure and decarbonization.
• City Policy Framework for Dramatically Reducing Embodied Carbon Guidance for cities considering policies that can deliver highest impact within their geopolitical contexts and regulatory systems. Over 50 existing policies from leading cities evaluated, categorized, and scored according to potential, cost efficiency, ease of implementation, and enforceability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 32% decline in U.S. building sector operating emissions since 2005
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• China Exploration and Design Association – Architecture Branch (CEDAAB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2015Facilitated the signing of the China Accord in Shenyang, China - a commitment by 62 Chinese and international architecture and planning firms to plan and design cities, towns, developments, and buildings in China to low carbon/carbon neutral standards.
• Climate Positive DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year collaboration (2022-2024) to publish new and updated resources for decarbonizing the built environment. Jointly developed tools and guidance for policymakers, planners, and designers. Climate Positive Design's mission is to provide significant contribution to reversing global warming through the exterior built environment.
• American Institute of Architects (AIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated the AIA 2030 Commitment as a national framework with simple metrics and standardized reporting format to track progress toward the 2030 Challenge targets. Over 800 A/E/P firms have adopted the 2030 Commitment. Architecture 2030 works with AIA on the AIA+2030 Online Series for continuing education credits.
• World Green Building Council (WorldGBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture 2030 supports Advancing Net Zero, WorldGBC's global programme working toward total sector decarbonization. Collaborates with Green Building Councils across the network to develop tools, programmes, and resources to promote net zero carbon buildings.
• Carbon Leadership ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated to create the Carbon Smart Materials Palette - an attribute-based approach to embodied carbon emissions reductions for major building elements. The Carbon Leadership Network (run by CLF) has 5,400 individuals from 2,650 companies spanning the construction industry globally.
• 2030 Districts NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by Architecture 2030 and now an independent organization. Network of 23 high performance urban building districts comprising over 520 million square feet of commercial real estate across North America. Led by private sector with local building industry leaders uniting for sustainability and economic growth.
• US Forest ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support for the Mass Timber Tipping Point project investigating mass timber as an alternative low-carbon and carbon-storing material for commercial, institutional, and multi-family buildings.
• US Endowment for Forestry and CommunitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support for the Mass Timber Tipping Point project along with Pilot Projects and Architecture 2030.
• UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerArchitecture 2030 has official observer status and participates in COP conferences, hosting side events and presenting built environment decarbonization solutions at UN climate negotiations.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): USGBC administers LEED, the dominant green building rating system, and pursues a closely parallel mission of transforming the built environment through voluntary standards, education, and policy advocacy. Like Architecture 2030, USGBC sits at the intersection of design practice, certification, and policy for building decarbonization.
• World Green Building Council: WorldGBC runs the global Advancing Net Zero program that Architecture 2030 directly supports and partners with. Both organizations operate as advocacy/policy-focused non-profits driving whole-sector building decarbonization across multiple geographies through frameworks and toolkits.
• New Buildings Institute (NBI): NBI is a nonprofit focused on energy performance and decarbonization of new and existing buildings, producing codes, standards, and policy resources that overlap heavily with Architecture 2030's Zero Code and Achieving Zero frameworks. It serves a similar audience of policymakers, designers, and building owners.
• Carbon Leadership Forum: CLF runs the Carbon Leadership Network (5,400+ members, 2,650+ organizations) and co-developed the Carbon Smart Materials Palette with Architecture 2030. CLF is the leading U.S. embodied carbon research and practitioner community, operating with a near-identical nonprofit advocacy model.
• Climate Positive Design: Climate Positive Design is a nonprofit Architecture 2030 partnered with on a multi-year collaboration to publish decarbonization resources for designers and planners. It pursues an overlapping mission on landscape/built environment carbon reversal with similar community-driven distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): RMI is a larger, well-funded climate think tank with active programs in buildings (e.g., Carbon-Free Buildings) and climate strategy advisory. It competes for philanthropic dollars and policy attention with a broader energy-transition mandate beyond the built environment.
• Urban Land Institute (ULI): ULI is a major real estate and land use research/membership organization publishing guidance on sustainable development. It overlaps with Architecture 2030 on decarbonization frameworks for the built environment but serves a wider mandate including investment, planning, and development.

Emerging players

• Building Decarbonization Coalition: A newer coalition focused on state and utility policy to decarbonize buildings. It targets a similar policy-shaping outcome but with a narrower focus on existing buildings and utility regulation rather than the design profession.
• Embodied Carbon Network / Builders for Climate Action: Smaller, mission-aligned nonprofits advancing embodied carbon reduction in construction. They overlap with Architecture 2030's Carbon Smart Materials Palette work but operate at a smaller scale focused on builders and product manufacturers.
• International Living Building Institute: Runs the Living Building Challenge and other regenerative design frameworks, intersecting with Architecture 2030 on advanced building performance standards and practitioner education. Comparable in nonprofit advocacy structure and target audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arch2030
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/architecture2030

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Architecture 2030