Seattle Firm McKinstry Cuts Carbon While Building Smarter

Matt Allen joined his grandfather's company in 2012 with some hesitation, but he discovered something that changed his perspective. Helping customers switch from old gas boilers to efficient heat pumps wasn't just good business; it felt like being part of humanity's journey toward a cleaner world.

Now as chief client officer at McKinstry, the Seattle-based construction and energy services firm, Allen sees reason for hope even as data centers and AI demand more power than ever. Western Washington has become a hotbed for clean nuclear solutions and deep geothermal energy, with startups like Helion, Zap Energy, and Avalanche racing to bring fusion power to market.

McKinstry signed the Amazon Climate Pledge in 2019, committing to net zero emissions by 2040. But Allen says they're aiming to get there sooner, tracking greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of revenue and per employee to ensure growth doesn't mean more pollution.

The company's approach is refreshingly practical. Instead of waiting for a magic bullet, they tackle decarbonization one project at a time. Their biggest carbon source is their fleet of 900 service vans and utility trucks, so every time a vehicle needs replacing, they swap it for an electric one. They're already 10 to 15 percent of the way through the transition.

Why This Inspires

Allen points to an underrated solution that often gets overlooked: simply operating buildings more efficiently. While everyone obsesses over upfront construction costs, optimizing when to turn systems on and off can slash energy bills and reduce grid strain. It's not glamorous, but it delivers real savings while cutting emissions.

The hyperscale data center operators McKinstry works with are evolving their designs to prioritize sustainability alongside computing power. And as the grid gets cleaner through innovations like Fervo Energy's commercial geothermal project in Utah, building electrification becomes an even easier sell to property owners.

Allen's test for success isn't complicated. In 20 years, he hopes we've avoided an existential climate crisis by taking collective action and left the world in better shape than we found it. For his young son and the next generation, that means a habitable, thriving, healthy planet.

Human ingenuity has solved big challenges before, and Allen believes the combination of focused brainpower and capital investment will do it again.