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From Green Power to Economic Empowerment

2016 May-June, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="22079" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="22084" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Michelle Moore CEO at Groundswell Michelle Moore is CEO of Groundswell, a nonprofit that builds community power to connect low and moderate income communities with clean energy through place-based programs in equitable community solar, affordable wind power, and energy efficiency. A social entrepreneur and former White House official with roots in rural Georgia, Michelle is a relentless agent for change. Her accomplishments range from helping build the global green building movement to leading the sustainability team for the Obama Administration. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]hat does the sustainability movement look like from the perspective of economic equity? You might measure your response in how much affordable housing is LEED certified, or whether there’s a cost premium for green. But if you’re a family living in poverty paying 10 percent of your total income for dirty power, is the promise of sustainability accessible to you? That’s the question facing an estimated 16 million Americans who are paying more than 10 percent of their household income for electricity. The reality today is that working families pay more to keep the lights on despite falling prices and growing...

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Creating Sustainable Cities

2016 March-April, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="21747" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="21745" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Anne Hidalgo Mayor of Paris and Co-host of the Climate Summit for Local Leaders [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']C[/dropcaps]limate change endangers people’s health and poses serious economic threats. Yet by protecting the environment, we not only invest in the future but we also bring immediate public health and economic benefits. By acting boldly to address the perils of climate change, cities can improve millions of lives today—and build a safer, healthier future for the generations to come. Cities around the world are taking the lead in the battle against climate change, and, in doing so, are determining the course of our planet’s future. Cities are more agile than national governments—cities have immediacy in their relationship to the impacts of climate change. They can take bolder actions and can see the benefits of climate action directly. Here in Paris we introduced a Climate Action Plan unanimously approved by the Council of Paris in 2007, updated in 2012, committing our city to decrease its overall emissions by 75 percent in 2050 compared to 2004. In this perspective, Paris implements ambitious programs of construction...

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Environmental Equality

2016 January-February, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="20507" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="21356" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Roger Platt U.S. Green Building Council [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]n early December, some of the brightest minds in government, business, and civil society gathered in Paris to discuss perhaps the greatest threat of our time: climate change. At the COP21 talks, USGBC’s voice was central in showcasing green buildings as critical solutions to climate change, and I was honored to lead our delegation to the conference. COP21 was about more than a commitment to change or a concern for the environment, it was about leadership and transformation, two concepts we are very familiar with at USGBC. In the months preceding the negotiations, we called on our base of member companies, many of which operate in industries or sectors directly impacted by the effects of climate change, to come together as one voice in support of a global agreement in Paris. More than 150 major companies, a third of which are USGBC members, signed on to the American Business Act on Climate Pledge. Additionally, a growing number of companies in our sector joined the Building and Real Estate Climate Declaration, a collaborative effort among...

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Permanence

2015 November-December, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="20965" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="20967" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Rick Fedrizzi CEO and founding chair U.S. Green Building Council [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]n our world, there is very little that is permanent. And as the world around me inevitably changes, I’ve discovered that the single thing that tends to last is the power of an idea. That doesn’t mean an idea is static. Rather, we constantly tinker with the environment in which it sits so that we can nurture it to full flower. And there is no better example of this than all the changes we’re undergoing at USGBC. Across the globe, LEED is booming. We’ve registered and certified 14 billion square feet in more than 150 countries precisely because we’ve kept evolving the rating system to take advantage of the changes in process and products that the green building movement has inspired. And that’s led to changes in the tools we have deployed. Few things were more analog than the three-ring binders that held the documentation of the first LEED projects. Now we have not only a richly functional LEED Online project management platform, but we also have the LEED Dynamic Plaque that...

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Environmental Equality

2015 September-October, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="20507" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="20505" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Majora Carter President, MCG Consulting [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']N[/dropcaps]o matter how good you believe your product, your idea, your policy, or even how good you think your intentions are, it doesn’t matter if nobody is “buying” it. There are tried-and-true ways of getting people to buy things and “educating” folks is far down the list. Relationship building continues to be a leading strategy in the foreseeable future, so let’s work with it! Serving on the Board of USGBC for four years, I was able to see its good products, ideas, policies, and intentions firsthand. But I come from the South Bronx, and my consulting firm works in the “South Bronx” you find in every city around the world: “low status” communities where good intentions have come and gone for generations, producing less than expected results. People debate why that is: not enough money, spending on the wrong things, insufficient community education; and all of them are probably correct. Whatever success my company has achieved is based on principles used in nearly every successful commercial product launch: identifying and developing a market that demands what you...

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Inspiration and Motivation

2015 July-August, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="20094" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="20092" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Brendan Owens chief of engineering, USGBC [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps] few years ago I was chatting with a new USGBC employee who had just joined us in a senior leadership position. We had just wrapped up a meeting about something or other and this new leader was explaining how excited they were to be working at USGBC. I get to hear that a fair amount— people like to work here and we do inspiring, important work with really fun, smart people. But the next statement they made blindsided me. It was something to the effect of “and I’m so happy to be at this place in such early days—this organization has so much potential.” I didn’t know what to say. Had they missed the memo that LEED had fundamentally changed the construction industry? In less than a decade! In 150 countries! And 10+ billion square feet! Sometimes the prideful, automatic reaction is the exact wrong one. The hard truth of it is that we’ve got a long, long, long way to go. In the face of the causal role that the buildings industry...

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Elevating Design Performance

2015 May-June, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="19695" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="19692" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Andy Cohen, FAIA Co-CEO, Gensler [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]s we approach Gensler’s 50th anniversary, we look back at many important and transformational collaborations with global-shift thinkers. In particular, we celebrate our tremendous partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC’s tools are integral components to our firm’s everyday practice, which currently includes more than 800 LEED certified projects and nearly 1,300 LEED Accredited Professionals. Whether we’re designing a new workplace interior for an up-and-coming law firm, or finishing one of the world’s tallest high-rises in the Shanghai Tower, the sustainable design partnership with USGBC has been extremely valuable to Gensler and our clients. The Shanghai Tower broke various records and far exceeds expectations for design excellence and user experience—but its LEED Gold target was a vital measure of success from the project’s inception. Our founder, Art Gensler, was instrumental in the dialogue that gave birth to many of the green building programs that have become a cornerstone of the industry. Since then, our firm has partnered with many developers and investors to realize the life cycle value of LEED as a return...

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Turning Adversity into Opportunity: Ghettos and Slums as Hotbeds of Green Innovation

2015 March-April, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="19144" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="19142" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] ANTWI A. AKOM Professor at San Francisco State University and co-founder of (I-SEEED) [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps] recently gave a TEDx talk on Mastering TAO. Not TAOism in terms of Eastern philosophy—although, in some ways, yin and yang are a part of it—but in this case TAO stands for Turning Adversity into Opportunity. I call the people, places, and policies that have mastered the art of Turning Adversity into Opportunity “Hope Dealers.” Hope Dealers ask questions like: What kinds of public and private investments in green infrastructure can help us innovate our way out of poverty? How are our ghettos, slums, and barrios hotbeds of green innovation? What is the role of so-called “slum dwellers” in the future of green cities and in building the green economy? And how can we change the negative narrative of “slum dwellers” so that they can be seen for who and what they are—everyday people and community members—not slums, but neighborhoods with families living, working, playing, praying, loving, living, eating, drinking, walking, biking, and taking their kids to and from school. These are important questions because the...

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Leading the Way

2015 January-February, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18466" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="18470" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Mahesh Ramanujam Chief Operating Officer, USGBC, president, GBCI [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has been established for 22 years, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for 15. As we travel around the globe, we hear one consistent message from our leaders: “USGBC is leading the way.” LEED, our tool for market transformation, is used in more than 150 countries and has helped create a trillion dollar industry. USGBC and LEED continue to serve as inspiration for many green building councils and green building rating systems around the world. USGBC has been able to realize this phenomenal success by associating equal emphasis on the development and implementation of LEED. While USGBC focused on the development aspects of LEED, Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) began focusing completely and singularly on LEED implementation in 2008. In the past six years, GBCI has accelerated the growth, adoption, and implementation of LEED. From my past experience with IBM and Lenovo, I know very well that to stay relevant in today’s global landscape, an organization must focus and scale its core competency....

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Playing the Scale: Redefining Community for a Resilient Future

2014 November-December, LEED ON

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_single_image image="18030" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_single_image image="18027" border_color="grey" img_link_target="_self" img_size="full"][vc_separator type="transparent" position="center" up="30"][vc_column_text] Harriet Tregoning Director of HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] [dropcaps type='normal' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]raditionally, the word “community” conjures the notion of a small geographic area: a city block or small neighborhood, where you might enjoy a potluck at the local recreation center or get together with your neighbors to do an alley cleanup. More and more, however, changes in the way we interact with one another—as well as our recognition of common interests—are redefining the term community into something that morphs those geographic boundaries. These days, we are just as likely to think of our online communities the same as we are about our next door neighbors when we consider those who share common characteristics and have mutual interests. Likewise, when addressing the community-scale challenges of the 21st century, we are not bound by the solutions discovered in our own zip code. To build resilient communities—to prepare for climate change, to make critical infrastructure decisions, and to establish new physical and business models—we must plan, develop, and invest at different scales and, often, outside our neighborhood or jurisdictional boundaries. Not only do we have the...

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