CannonDesign named Metropolis Planet Positive Firm of the Year

This prestigious awards program celebrates projects, people and ideas boldly helping design a regenerative and equitable future. Only one firm is recognized each year, and we are thrilled to be the 2024 recipient.

We are also deeply grateful to our clients who share our commitment to sustainability and are partnering with us to create buildings and spaces that drive positive impact.

Shortly after launching our Living-Centered Design ethos, we established Planet 2100 as one of our core ambitions with a clear goal: safeguard a regenerative world for future generations. The built environment has historically been responsible for significant energy-related carbon emissions. But it doesn't need to be that way, and we're driving important change.

In our 2023 Sustainability Impact Report, we shared that our projects help clients consistently achieve an average 54% energy reduction from industry benchmarks. This is part of our extensive sustainable design achievements, including:

• 289 LEED-Certified projects
• 14 Net-Zero Energy projects
• 12 Collaborative for High-Performance Schools
• 13 all-electric buildings
• 5 Mass Timber projects
• 2 WELL projects
• 250+ LEED-accredited professionals
  

Beyond this core data, the firm also has numerous sustainably designed projects that stand out in our portfolio, including:

• The Resnick Sustainability Center at the California Institute of Technology, which exists as a makerspace for climate scientists. The building deploys mass timber and is a hub for critical research into the most pressing climate and sustainability challenges we face.
  

• The University of Florida Student Health Care Center became the first higher education building in the US to achieve WELL Platinum certification earlier this year. The project sets an ambitious new precedent for healthy student-focused buildings.
  

• We helped the General Services Administration transform a former World War II Munitions Plant into a cutting-edge workspace for the Department of the Interior. The building has achieved LEED Gold, SITES Silver and both net zero energy and net zero carbon. The building is operated by 100% renewable energy.
  

• The Cordilleras Mental Health Campus is now open as the nation's largest net zero energy mental health campus.
  
  
• LinkedIn's Toronto Headquarters has achieved both LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certification

While we are thrilled with our sustainable design progress and this honor from Metropolis, we recognize there is still so much more to do in this arena. We have signed key industry commitments and committed to designing 100% net-zero energy construction buildings by 2030 across energy, carbon, water, waste, harmful materials and other key factors.

This recognition builds on a series of impressive honors for CannonDesign this year. We previously were recognized as the #1 sustainable healthcare design firm by Engineering-News Record and were also named the #1 Best Workplace for Innovators in the US by Fast Company.