Beyond LEED: Delivering AV and IT for the World’s Greenest Buildings

At InfoComm 2025, AVIXA hosted a powerful panel discussion exploring how AV and IT technology integrators can meet the demands of the world’s most rigorous sustainable building standards. Moderated by AVI-SPL SVP of ESG and Sustainability, Kelly Bousman, the panel focused on the Living Building Challenge (LBC) and the practical steps needed to support these net-positive, energy-efficient projects.

The core requirements of the Living Building Challenge include:

• Net-positive energy and water use
• 75% daylight autonomy
• 105% energy efficiency
• Red List compliance

Designing and delivering projects that can rise to the Living Building Challenge involves a change in thinking from accounting for every possible use case to accounting for every possible measure of material, energy, and water consumption. The key to LBC success is to harmonize the human experience of the building with its lived environmental footprint.

To understand how to achieve this harmony, the panel included three subject-matter experts who have designed and supported Living Buildings in the U.S. Panelists included Britton Gates, Audiovisual Studio Director of Newcomb & Boyd, Ryan Sennett, Senior Associate for Technology of PAE Consulting Engineers, and Scott Simpson, Director, XTG Business Development for AVI-SPL.

Three core lessons emerged from our experts:

• Minimizing impact requires maximizing efficiency.
• Red List compliance takes ingenuity.
• Energy efficiency can redefine what’s standard.

Minimizing impact requires maximizing efficiency.

Ryan Sennet of PAE described how their Portland, Oregon office drastically reduced network infrastructure by choosing a Wi-Fi-only scheme. After evaluating Passive Optical LAN and limited Ethernet drops, they determined that wireless access points were sufficient, even for an engineering firm with high data demands. This approach slashed cabling needs, cut construction costs, and allowed them to use fewer, Red List-compliant cables. It also enabled passive cooling in network rooms.

With low switch counts and careful thermal planning, like open MDF (Main Distribution Frame) network room walls with mesh screens for airflow, PAE maintained safe temperatures using ventilation alone. The combined efficiencies meant their total power usage in these network rooms was about half that of a hair dryer. Scott Simpson of AVI-SPL shared how PAE used advanced power distribution units to monitor real-time energy usage and connect AV power consumption to the building management system via Modbus protocol. This setup enabled automated power-down routines triggered by occupancy sensors or room schedules, bringing AV and IT into alignment with the Living Building Challenge’s operational goals. It also supported the AVIXA Energy Management Standard, helping quantify and optimize system performance across the facility.

Red List compliance takes ingenuity.

Avoiding harmful materials like PVC and formaldehyde, which are common in building and electronic components, requires discipline and innovation. For access control and surveillance, PAE used Power over Ethernet (PoE) locksets and cameras, minimizing cabling and eliminating the need for additional power supplies. Each lock could be powered by a single Red List-compliant Cat6 cable. The right-sized server design also helped: rather than a large 500-watt blade server, PAE used a 90-watt device tailored to their actual needs.

Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building followed a similar path, leveraging Red List-free cabling and consolidating AV hardware into a central IDF (Intermediate Distribution Frame) network room. The Kendeda Building was also the first building on campus to deploy AV over IP which, because of its success, became the new campus-wide standard.

Energy efficiency can redefine what’s standard.

In Georgia’s hot, humid climate, the Kendeda Building had to keep both power consumption and indoor temperatures low. Newcomb & Boyd AV Studio Director Britton Gates explained how laser projection and AVoIP distribution allowed Georgia Tech to centralize AV gear and move heat-generating equipment out of occupied spaces. The result was less hardware, less cooling, and a seamless experience for instructors that matched the campus-wide standard. This was Georgia Tech’s first building to use AVoIP throughout it, and the project’s success prompted the university to adopt AVoIP as its new technology standard.

Scott Simpson of AVI-SPL noted a similar innovation at PAE. The Living building Challenge requires that 75% of the regularly occupied floor space be daylit. Direct View LEDs are bright enough for fully lit environments, but their power consumption is often too high to meet energy efficiency standards. To meet these daylighting and energy constraints, PAE chose Energy Star-rated LCD video walls over projection and Direct View LED.

Sustainability standards are just about systems; it’s also about user behavior. Simpson shared a favorite example from PAE: gamifying use of the stairs. Proximity sensors on each stair landing triggered colorful RGB lighting to travel up the wall, rewarding stair users with a playful visual effect and encouraging them to skip the elevator. By the end of each day, the goal was a fully lit wall, empowered by human movement and powered by less electricity than the elevator lifts.

Apply these lessons learned today.

From occupancy-based energy routines to daylight-optimized displays, AVIXA’s Beyond LEED panel highlighted how designers and engineers are not just supporting sustainable buildings, they’re redefining them.

The lessons shared here can not only go beyond LEED to Living Buildings, but they can also go beyond LEED to everyday buildings. Apply these expert tips in any building environment to preserve and protect our shared natural environment. To learn more about AVI-SPL’s sustainability strategy and initiatives, please visit: www.avispl.com/esg.