Commercial and residential buildings accoun for nearly 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Dominique Davison thinks we can do better.

“As professionals in an industry that is one of the predominant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, it’s incumbent on us to be proactive
and find solutions,” she said.

Davison, principal of DRAW Architecture + Urban Design, said her firm frequently presents designs to customers and potential clients that incorporate sustainable features, but convincing them to go green isn’t always easy.

“They want to know what the pay back is,” she said. “They‘d ask, ‘Is this the right decision for me?’ We didn’t have an answer.”

Davison said it can take weeks to complete a comprehensive energy model and determine potential savings of a project. Her firm needed a tool that could quickly allow engineers and architects help clients make good decisions about sustainability early in the design process.

In 2014, she started PlanIT Impact. The result is a benchmarking platform that can help improve performance related to energy and water usage, storm water management and other sustainability issues. It took years to develop the tool, which had a slow rollout last year.

“We tested it and got feedback about what’s working and what’s not,” said Davison, who is CEO of the company. “It’s a very complex piece of software.”

The company launched an updated version of the tool in January, she said.

Davison could have made the platform a proprietary service for DRAW, but she said that would have been “less impactful to the planet” and she would rather “change the way building construction is done.”

PlanIT Impact already has earned some valuable attention. It won a $50,000 LaunchKC grant last year during during Techweek and $6,000 during a Pure Pitch Rally. Davison said those experiences helped support product updates and staff expansion, in addition to providing valuable networking opportunities and visibility.

Davison said that by the end of the year the company hopes to introduce a new product that helps firms integrate smart building technology.

Although her two companies have different business models, Davison said there was one lesson learned from founding DRAW more than a decade ago that helped her the second time around.

“The importance of having great people and knowing how to get people excited about your vision to join you on the journey is something I had learned and endeavor to bring across again,” she said.