Sustainability Consulting

Tetra Tech's High Performance Buildings Group is building a resilient future through sustainable design. Our global team of building design experts provides solutions that improve the value, resiliency, and efficiency of our clients' projects and the growing cities in which we live and work.

We understand the inherent value of developing sustainable buildings and aim to optimize building efficiency and promote sustainability as an integral part of all our projects. The members of our High Performance Buildings Group are experts in the design of fully integrated systems that deliver efficient solutions with best-in-class outcomes—from reduced operating costs and improved health and well-being for occupants, to higher profit margins and market differentiation.

Throughout the project life cycle, from design through construction, our sustainability team offers guidance and technical expertise to realize our clients’ vision in a manner that fosters environmental stewardship and remains cost-effective. Our sustainable design experts provide clarity and guidance on effective integration of energy-efficient, low-carbon systems. Drawing inspiration from the Earth’s natural processes, we incorporate natural ventilation, daylight harvesting, radiant solutions for heating and cooling such as in-slab radiant flooring and active or passive chilled beams, on-site solar energy, and on-site geothermal energy. We are committed to the planning, design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings, towns, and cities around the world. Our experts have worked on a significant portfolio of projects throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States.

Tetra Tech is a proud leader in sustainable design. Our staff includes professional engineers, LEED Accredited Professionals (APs), Certified Energy Managers (CEM), Building Energy Modeling Professionals (BEMP), WELL APs, and a growing roster of Living Building Ambassadors. We also are long-time, active members in the leading green building organizations in the United States—the U.S. Green Building Council, the WELL Building Institute, and International Living Future Institute—and are early adopters of the Green Building Council of Australia.

Our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineers, energy analysts, sustainability consultants, lighting designers, and commissioning agents help our clients create healthy buildings for their customers. Tetra Tech’s sustainable design team has also guided hundreds of buildings toward LEED certification, WELL certification, and Green Star rating and is delivering a growing list of certified net zero energy and net zero water facilities. We also are ongoing sponsors of the International Living Future Institute and are adding a growing list of Living Building Challenge certified projects to our portfolio. Many of these buildings are firsts of their kind, including the first residential high-rise building in the United States to earn LEED Gold; the first LEED Platinum v4 office in East Asia, the first Living Certified Reuse project in the world; the first Net Zero Carbon educational facility in Australia; and Harvard University’s first LEED-certified building on the campus.

Capabilities

  • LEED
  • WELL Building Standard
  • Net Zero Energy and Net Zero Water buildings
  • Living Building Challenge, including Petal recognition
  • Passive House
  • BREEAM
  • NABERS
  • Green Star
  • Estidama
  • Energy Star
  • Enterprise Green Communities
  • Green Globes

We believe the most successful outcomes are achieved by making a considered effort up front and undertaking appropriate due diligence. Our experts work with a broad range of clients within multiple sectors to help them establish a path to a more sustainable future, both at a corporate level and on projects. This includes:

  • Corporate strategy, governance, and reporting
  • Pre-development advice
  • Design briefing, verification, and due diligence
  • New site development planning advice
  • Urban redevelopment
  • Contractor assistance and monitoring
  • Operational optimization strategies
  • Performance data analysis
  • Specifications and specifications review
  • Material and product selection

The most successful projects are collaborative, environmentally responsive, human-centric, and resilient. We also believe that valuing whole-of-project life imperative can help us create efficient, affordable, and healthy buildings. Our sustainability specialists collaborate with our clients and guide them through complex sustainability design and construction challenges. We unlock value for our clients, simulate new ideas and empower innovative thinking in our working through:

  • Climate change adaptation
  • Operational performance enhancement
  • Regulatory compliance and certifications
  • Wellness management
  • Ecologically sustainable design (ESD) strategies
  • Sustainability benchmarking and certifications
  • Simulation and compliance modeling
  • Sustainability rating tool certification
  • Portfolio sustainability and GRESB

Designing high performance buildings requires using leading-edge software to provide our clients with the most sophisticated modeling, design, and production systems available. Advanced digital models provide highly accurate representations of the built environment, improving production speeds while simultaneously enhancing our engineers’ ability to design energy efficient, sustainable systems. Our combined energy modeling services include:

  • Renewable energy
  • Code compliance simulation
  • LEED whole building performance analysis
  • Advanced climate modeling
  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis
  • Envelope performance evaluation
  • System studies and comparisons
  • Eversource and NGRID analysis
  • Integrated energy systems analysis, including solar, wind, thermal comfort, and building orientation
  • Daylighting analysis

 

Contact Our High Performance Buildings Group

    Get updates and learn more about our work

    High Performance Buildings