The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year will help inject billions of dollars into both potable water and wastewater upgrades over the next several years. Coupled with that, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order and Federal Sustainability Plan that will put the U.S. federal government on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, which includes directives for federal buildings and facilities to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 through energy efficiency, electrification and use of carbon-free electricity along with sustainability principles.
It’s only natural to assume that these lofty federal sustainability goals will trickle down to state and local governments in time. As buildings are some of the largest energy consumers and carbon emissions, commercial building owners and facility managers will be looking for ways to increase energy efficiencies and reduce waste. Plumbing engineers are uniquely suited to help them do both.