Between wildfires in Hawaii and missing sea ice in the Arctic, industry standards are changing and we are committed to keeping the community updated. Last month the Biden administration issued a Heat Alert action plan to combat workplace hazards caused by extreme heat and California just became the first state to adopt mandatory measures to reduce embodied carbon. Climate change has given way to record-breaking high temperatures across the globe, but President Biden, OSHA, the California Building Standards Commission, and the Department of Labor are working to develop standards and best practices we will all benefit from.
Under President Biden’s Heat Alert, employees will have guaranteed heat-related protections under federal law. The Department of Labor will put systems in place to inform employees of their legal protections and increase enforcement of current standards with more frequent inspections in high-risk industries. OSHA is also taking steps to develop new standard heat safety rules for the workplace. These rules will reinforce workers’ rights to a safe work environment.
Another win in the interest of climate change is the $7 million investment that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is making to improve the accuracy of our nation’s weather forecasts. This investment may help save thousands of lives as accurate weather forecasts are crucial for mitigating the damage that results from natural disasters and extreme weather events. This investment will help maximize the potential of the NOAA’s existing global observing system by pooling resources from universities and other institutions to create a new Data Assimilation Consortium. The investment towards this initiative is made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The Department of the Interior will also be making a sizable investment to improve water storage in California, Colorado, and Washington. Their $152 million investment will increase water storage in the states previously mentioned. Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, carefully organized investments will be made toward critical water infrastructure that will make way for water recycling and desalination facilities for communities that have suffered from having contaminated water.
The California Building Standards Commission voted unanimously for two building code changes that will limit embodied carbon emissions in the built environment. The code additions are amendments to the 2022 California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) and in making these changes California becomes the first state in the nation to set code standards that require the reduction of embodied carbon in the design and building process for both commercial buildings and schools. ID30 celebrates the efforts made by communities and our government to maintain the health of our planet. At ID360, we believe that sustainability is the way forward. If you are looking to implement innovative sustainable design policy and green project management, contact us and we’ll help you get started.