Look around you. The environment we have built shapes us every day—and we shape it. Everything is designed. From our ability to focus and learn in a classroom as a child, to the distance we live from public transportation as we commute, to how we can remain independent yet connected as we age, our surroundings affect us.
Unfortunately, the built environment is responsible for at least 40% of global CO₂ emissions, through the energy consumed from operating the buildings to the materials extracted to construct them. Since everything is designed, our impact as designers is substantial. We know our planetary resources are finite, but human ingenuity is infinite, so we see this as an opportunity to design our way out of this climate crisis.
That is what we do—design.
Human by Design
We are Perkins Eastman, a global design firm that focuses on the built environment from master planning to architecture and interior design. We design cities, towns, homes, schools, universities, hospitals, hotels, senior living facilities, and more—the physical infrastructure that enables our societies and cultures to prosper.
At our core, we believe design should have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives. We call our design approach “Human by Design.” Sustainability is intrinsic to this ethos and our design culture. We evaluate the challenges we face and measure our success through this perspective.
We see climate change as a significant design problem and know we must deliver distinctly crafted design solutions that address all aspects—the social, economic, and environmental challenges—that come with it. Sustainability is the essence of our Human by Design approach, which is grounded in research, human-centric, and holistic.
Our goal is to restore harmony and balance to our planet, while improving the quality of life so everyone can thrive.
Our Progress
We are not perfect—we are human. We are on an ever-evolving journey to reach our vision of “balance,” but we are proud of the progress we have made.
As of 2023, we achieved carbon neutrality in our operations by offsetting our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. In 2024, we pursued and received a Just label, so we could transparently measure our progress toward social justice and equity, which we consider a critical part of a holistic approach to sustainability. Perkins Eastman is committed to the 2030 challenge, and last year we saw a 49% reduction in predicted energy consumption across our portfolio.
We now have 270+ projects with sustainability certifications (LEED, WELL, Passive House, Net Zero Energy). We use our work to contribute to groundbreaking industry research on how design impacts people. For more information on our progress, please see our latest State of Sustainability report and our Latrobe Prize Study.
We believe design is central to solving the climate crisis, but we recognize that our work and the work of others to address this crisis cannot be done in isolation.
Together, let’s put humans at the heart of design.
