Startups and more established suppliers of products that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete are developing systems to make the product more sustainable. Some are even seeking ways to produce the material and its ingredient, Portland cement, without the carbon-intensive process that's been required since it was first used.

The CHIPS and Science Act aims to bolster U.S. leadership in innovation and technology. For some Top 100 sustainable design firms like Flad Architects, it’s an opportunity to expand into science and technology markets.

The sustainable design and contracting market is fertile ground for innovation now more than ever, Top 100 firms share. With decarbonization incentives baked into recent federal spending packages such as the CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, many owners across industrial and infrastructure sectors now have the wherewithal to think green.

When the city of Lenexa, Kan., this spring opted to move forward with a test pilot of “smart pavements,” it represented a vital step forward for electric vehicles.

With more than $12 billion in IIJA funding allocated to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, AEC firms will need to innovate together to engineer, procure and construct pilot and demonstration projects that prove CCS technology can be adopted at a commercial scale.

As supply chain disruptions threaten to shelve some projects completely, more owners are using professional services firms to help reconfigure limited staff resources and keep schedules moving forward.