In December 2020, the National Institute of Building Services (NIBS) held a social equity roundtable with over two dozen organizations representing the built environment. This conversation resulted in a recommendation to advance the work on this issue, including obtaining consistent research from across the many sectors of the built environment. NIBS partnered with Avenue M Group (Avenue M), an independent market research and consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive research study aimed at collecting critical data on the workforce of the built environment for the purpose of informing future initiatives on social equity.

NIBS invited more than 80 organizations to partner in this 2021 Built Environment Social Equity Survey (the Social Equity Survey). The following professional associations (ordered alphabetically) responded to an invitation to participate as a partnering organization and to send the survey to at least a sample of their U.S. contacts in the built environment:

1. American Institute of Architects (AIA)
2. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
3. ASHRAE
4. Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA International)
5. Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)
6. Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)
7. Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)
8. Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA)
9. Green Building Initiative (GBI)
10. Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®)
11. International Code Council (ICC)
12. International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC)
13. New Buildings Institute (NBI)
14. Regional Hispanic Contractors Association (RHCA)
15. RMC Research & Education Foundation
16. U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)

Additionally, during survey fielding, the following organizations also distributed the survey to their contacts:

• Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) & Smart Buildings Center (SBC)
• A Council for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)