The Green Enterprise: Autodesk

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>> Sumi Das: Hello, I'm Sumi Das for ZDNEt. Autodesk has been a leader in developing design software for more than 25 years giving architects and engineers the tools they need to create 3D virtual models of their projects. Now the executives at Autodesk have a new idea. Developing software that allows their customers to construct buildings and create products that are more environmentally sustainable. Today, we're going to see how they do it. It's all next on the Green Enterprise.

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>> At Autodesk the goal is to create software that allows designers to be more sustainable. Recently their tools have helped the architects build eco-friendly projects like the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the Cathedral of Christ of Light in Oakland. The company is also going green internally by retrofitting many of their facilities to meet environmental standards. Today, we'll meet Autodesk executives. They'll show us how designers are using their software to be more green and finally, we'll sit down with Lynelle Cameron, Director of Sustainability and talk to her about the challenges the company faces and their plans going forward.

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>> Sumi Das: First it's a trip to Autodesk's new design gallery in San Francisco. While Autodesk is know for helping architects create computer models for their buildings they're also aiding product designers to be more eco-friendly.

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>> Sumi Das: From surfboards to laptops to even this airplane engine, designers create 3D models so they can test their products before starting the manufacturing process. As a result, companies are able to lower their carbon footprint by cutting down on the energy it takes to physically make the products. Jason Medal-Katz is a senior manager with Autodesk.

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>> Sumi Das: So tell us what we have here. This is not your ordinary airplane engine is it?

>> Jason Medal-Katz: It is not. This is a lightweight high performance engine that's made by inaudible South Africa and they've really embraced sustainable practices in creating a lighter weight engine than typical which makes it run more efficiently.

>> Sumi Das: And before there was this you had diagrams.

>> Jason Medal-Katz: Exactly. Inaudible is using a lot of analysis in their design process to really understand how this engine is gonna perform in the real world. So they're looking at how the temperature is gonna be impacted at different times of operation and really having a software and the technology help them to understand those characteristics before they ever go to manufacturing.

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>> Sumi Das: Another example is this chair by designer Herman Miller. It's made with recyclable materials.

>> Jason Medal-Katz: So what we see are explorations of finite element analysis and other analysis and simulation tools that really help our customers understand how those products will function and the environmental impact both in the manufacturing process as well as the materials that are used and what happens when this chair reaches the end of its life and 96 percent of it can be recycled.

>> Sumi Das: So you don't need to make as many models as we did in the past, is that right?

>> Jason Medal-Katz: That's right. You're making less physical models. More is done digitally and you're actually able to explore many more iterations to create better designs in the end by keeping things digital.

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>> Sumi Das: In addition to products, the company is also focused on creating software that will help architects design more energy efficient structures.

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>> Sumi Das: The California Academy of Sciences recently went through a complete overhaul. Designers were able to use Autodesk software to measure the environmental impact before heading in to construction. One of the standout features at the museum was the living roof, the 2-and-a-half hectare roof required designers to use 3D modeling and visualization software. Matt Tierney is a global content manager with Autodesk.

>> Sumi Das: So we're looking at some close-up images of the living roof here.

>> Matt Tierney: Right so there's over a million and a half native plants on the roof which can help keep the building cool. The skylights are required for the aquarium and the rain forest to get light down in the space but that causes structural problems so working with the 3D model to understand how they can place the skylights was a real challenge and something that would have been impossible to do without the design tools that inaudible has at their hands.

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>> Sumi Das: Architects for the Cathedral of Christ of Light in Oakland also used Autodesk tools in the design of their building. Here's the final version but getting there took many steps. Using natural light was the central design feature which is now helping reduce the need for air conditioning inside the building.

>> Matt Tierney: Light plays a huge part on this building's design, understanding the orientation of the project within the city and within the specific locations so how light enters the space to create a warm environment but also well not got too hot, software played a big role in understanding that.

>> Sumi Das: And then the actual construction of the building itself?

>> Matt Tierney: So one other aspect of this project which is sustainable is the use of all sustainably harvested Douglas fir which came from Oregon, a very small shop up in Portland, all brought down here to create a tremendously warm natural environment.

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>> Sumi Das: Autodesk is also creating software tools to make architects more energy efficient. For instance, now they're able to measure environmental effects such as solar, thermo and air flow on building performance early in the design process. John Kennedy is the senior product manager for Green Building Studio.

>> John Kennedy: What I've done is I've loaded a building that's being designed and we've incorporated the Green Building Studio into this building, into this application to allow the architects that are making various design decisions about the building to very quickly understand what the energy use is in the building, the water use in the building, what the carbon emissions are, and various opportunities for saving energy and making the big decisions about the orientation of the building, the envelope construction. The other information we look at is we try and determine how good this building could get in terms of being carbon neutral. So this on site renewable potential is all the wind energy and photovoltaic electric generation. We look at the natural ventilation potential in the building so very quickly we determine if it's an opportunity to start opening the windows and rely on the breezes to cool the building and ventilate it and so that the whole purpose of the Green Building Studio is design, display for the architect to really learn about their building and what the opportunities are to make it as energy and water and carbon efficient as possible.

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>> Sumi Das: We've taken a tour and seen how Autodesk is going green but what were the challenges? We sat down with Lynelle Cameron, Director of Sustainability to hear about this and what the future holds for the company.

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>> Sumi Das: So it sounds like this was a big undertaking, the greening of Autodesk. Can you tell us about the challenges that presented? Did it take longer than you expected?

>> Lynelle Cameron: Greening a company is a complex undertaking, a lot of different factor is involved, at the same time it's not rocket science. You know greening a company today is very different than thinking about these issues 10 years ago because we have many, many best practices to pull from. In terms of did it take longer, are mantra is go slow to go fast. So we're actually trying to be really thoughtful right upfront about what are the biggest impact areas that we can influence in our operations and then prioritize those really carefully. So you know that's been a greatest priority this past year is the data collection so that we have the right information with which to make quick progress.

>> Sumi Das: What's the future plan? Now that you've got the green strategy in place what happens in 5 years, in 10 years?

>> Lynelle Cameron: You know I've been in this field for 15 or 20 years now and my vision has always been that positions like mine, directors of sustainability, will actually disappear and I think that someone will be able to success is when sustainable design is part of regular design. Sustainable business is good business. You know it's like quality, when you think of what happened with quality everybody was competing on quality 10 or 20 years ago. Now it's part of how we do business. Of course you need to have a good quality. I think the same thing is gonna happen with sustainable design. Now it feels new and fresh. I think it's gonna become very basic baseline expectations, hopefully sooner rather than later.

>> Sumi Das: Lynelle, thank you for your time today.

>> Lynelle Cameron: You bet, thank you. It's been a pleasure.

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>> Sumi Das: As you've just seen, Autodesk is researching and deploying the latest green technologies within their company and for their customers. Stay tune. In the weeks ahead, we'll show you what other companies are doing to green their enterprise.

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