Podcasts about leed platinum

This week on Better Buildings for Humans, host Joe Menchefski welcomes building science legend Dr. Joseph Lstiburek for an unfiltered and unforgettable conversation. From mold to CO₂ myths, Joseph challenges conventional thinking about ventilation, insulation, humidity control, and what really makes a building “healthy.” With decades of hands-on experience, a sharp wit, and a no-nonsense take on industry dogma, he dives deep into where the U.S. is falling short—and how Canada got it right. You'll hear why "drying potential" matters more than you think, the trouble with high-performance HVAC, and why most over-ventilated buildings are actually failing their occupants. This episode is a must-listen for anyone serious about high-performance buildings, durable design, and real-world building science.More About Thierry ParetThierry Paret is an award-winning architect and seasoned leader with extensive international management experience in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. As Vice President of the Architecture and Engineering Department at the New York City School Construction Authority (NYCSCA), he oversees the design of renovations, upgrades, and new construction for approximately 1,500 school buildings. Each year, his team designs or manages external consultants responsible for designing 10-12 new schools for the NYC Department of Education, part of a $20.6 billion capital plan for the nation's largest unified school system, which serves nearly one million students.Thierry leads a team of 300 architects, engineers, designers, project managers and administrators, ensuring design excellence across all projects. His leadership extends to two studios responsible for managing contracts with external private-sector firms, further supporting the Authority's ambitious infrastructure goals.Prior to joining NYCSCA in 2023, Thierry led the New York State practice at IBI Group-Arcadis, overseeing operations in New York City and Binghamton. He has held senior design leadership roles at several international architecture firms, served as a Design Advisor to the government of Qatar, and acted as Campus Architect for the prestigious King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia which happened to be the first LEED Platinum campus in the Middle East.A registered architect in multiple U.S. states, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, Thierry's portfolio spans university campuses, corporate headquarters, life science facilities, and mixed-use developments, with a focus on sustainability. His commitment to the profession is evident through his service on numerous boards and committees, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Board, where he was a Director-at-Large, founding President of AIA International and AIA Middle East, and member of NCARB's International Competency Workgroup. Thierry was most recently elected to the AIA National's Strategic Council as a Counselor for the 2025-2027 term.Thierry has been a presenter at architectural and industry conferences in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East during his extensive international career.In 2014, Thierry was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, an honor held by only 2.5% of AIA members. He is also an AIA Richard Upjohn Fellow.Contact:http://linkedin.com/in/thierry-paret-faia-ncarb-riba-arb-mriai-leed-ap-8859849www.nycsca.org www.thierryparet-architect.comWhere To Find Us:https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/www.advancedglazings.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcastwww.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625https://twitter.com/bbfhpodhttps://twitter.com/Solera_Daylighthttps://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltdhttps://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd

Join Paul for another action-packed exploration of mass timber innovation sweeping across the globe. This episode showcases how this revolutionary building material is being embraced by tech giants, municipalities, and forward-thinking developers alike.We dive into Zublin's ambitious hybrid timber complex being constructed above Munich's metro line—a stunning example of how mass timber can solve complex urban development challenges while meeting rigorous sustainability standards. The LOVT Vibe office complex aims for LEED Platinum certification and features innovative elements like planted terrace boxes and extensive bicycle parking.The spotlight then shifts to Meta's groundbreaking decision to replace steel and concrete with mass timber in their expanding data center infrastructure. With their first timber administrative structure already complete in South Carolina and another underway in Alabama, the tech giant is demonstrating how even the most demanding building applications can benefit from timber's environmental advantages, potentially reducing embodied carbon by 40%.Municipal leadership takes center stage as we explore Halifax Council's unanimous support for a potential 10-12 story mass timber building and Santa Monica's acceptance of a $100,000 grant to evaluate timber construction as part of their carbon reduction strategy. These initiatives highlight how cities are recognizing timber's role in fighting climate change while stimulating local economies and supply chains.From Brazilian prefab innovations to New York City's climate technology accelerators and Stockton's impressive 10-meter play towers, this episode demonstrates mass timber's versatility across residential, commercial, and recreational applications. Each project showcases a different facet of how engineered wood products are transforming our built environment for a more sustainable future.Subscribe, share, and join the conversation as we continue tracking the remarkable rise of mass timber construction worldwide. Your support helps spread awareness of these game-changing approaches to sustainable building.Send us a textSupport the show

"It's important that we share the knowledge that we create. We won't get where we need to go unless all ships rise." - Anica LandreneauAs Global Director of Sustainability at HOK, Anica leads the firm that designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium—the NFL's first LEED Platinum-certified venue. From a Texas architecture student told she'd "never find a job" in sustainability to becoming one of the industry's most influential voices, her journey reflects the evolution of green building itself. "It's not sustainable if it's not for everyone," she insists, explaining how voluntary certifications eventually create cost parity that allows practices to be codified, bringing equity to all.The conversation delves into HOK's meticulous approach to carbon reduction—examining everything from concrete mix designs to nursery trays for landscaping. Anica reveals the economic logic behind sustainability choices: "If I optimize the design and use less material, that costs less." This practical mindset helps explain how HOK has been carbon neutral since 2022 while working toward net-zero emissions in its designs by 2030. With refreshing candor, she connects today's cutting-edge practices to the firm's 1955 Midwestern roots, where resource efficiency and durability weren't trendy—they were just good business. For anyone interested in how buildings shape our climate future, this Earth Day conversation offers both technical depth and surprising accessibility.Anica Landreneau is the Global Director of Sustainability at HOK, the international design firm behind the LEED Platinum-certified Mercedes-Benz Stadium and countless other landmark sustainable projects. With a background in architecture and a career spanning policy think tanks and design consulting, Anica has become one of the building industry's most influential voices on decarbonization. Beyond her leadership at HOK, she chairs the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Steering Committee overseeing the rollout of LEED version 5, serves on the board of the New Buildings Institute, and contributes to the ULI Net Zero Imperative Steering Committee. Anica's approach combines technical expertise with entrepreneurial advocacy, working to transform building codes and policies while ensuring HOK's projects meet the highest sustainability standards. Under her guidance, HOK has been carbon neutral since 2022 and is committed to achieving net-zero emissions in all its designs by 2030—embodying her philosophy that "sustainability isn't sustainable if it's not for everyone."In This Episode:(00:00) Anica's journey from architecture student to sustainability leader(06:00) Entrepreneurial spirit and policy advocacy in sustainability(08:17) How voluntary certifications drive market transformation(10:07) HOK's leadership in sharing sustainability tools and knowledge(11:13) HOK's sustainability evolution from Midwestern values to global impact(15:05) Deep dive into embodied carbon across building elements(17:48) Making the economic case for sustainable design solutionsShare with someone who would enjoy this topic, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes, send us your comments and guest suggestions!About the show: The Age of Adoption podcast explores the monumental transition from a period of climate tech research and innovation – an Age of Innovation – to today's world in which companies across the economy are furiously adopting climate solutions - the Age of Adoption. Listen as our host, Keith Zakheim, CEO of Antenna Group, talks with experts from across the climate, energy, health, and real estate sectors to discuss what the transition means for business and society, and how corporates and startups can rise above competitors to lead in this new age. Access more curated content on the subject by visiting, www.ageofadoption.com.This podcast is brought to you by Antenna Group, an award-winning integrated marketing, public relations, public affairs and digital agency that partners with the world's most exciting and disruptive companies across cleantech, mobility, real estate, healthcare, and emerging B2B tech sectors. Our clients are transformational and distinguished corporations, startups, investors, and nonprofits that are at the bleeding edge of the Age of Adoption. Visit antennagroup.com to learn more.Resources:Anica Landreneau LInkedInHOKAntenna GroupAge of Adoption WebsiteKeith Zakheim LinkedIn

Discover how the Walter E. Washington Convention Center achieved the prestigious LEED Platinum certification in this eye-opening discussion with Hootan Kaboli, Senior VP of Operations at Events DC. Hootan reveals how sustainability evolved from a mere "wishlist item" to an essential, data-driven venue offering that meeting planners now demand. From innovative high-speed doors conserving energy to exciting future projects like on-site honeybee farms, learn about the practical strategies that benefit both the environment and everyone using the space. This episode delivers valuable insights on creating environmentally responsible event spaces while enhancing attendee experiences. Listen now to hear how the convention center's collaborative approach to sustainability is setting new industry standards.

LinkedIn has officially opened its new campus at 4 Wilton Park, consolidating its Dublin operations into a modern, sustainable hub. This brings together LinkedIn's teams under one roof across 4 and 5 Wilton Park, with a combined footprint of 290,000 sq ft, making Dublin home to LinkedIn's largest office outside of the United States. The new campus is designed to support LinkedIn's evolving ways of working and foster collaboration among its 2,000+ employees in Ireland, who represent 60% of LinkedIn's EMEA workforce and over 70 nationalities. Speaking at the opening ceremony, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD said: "I'm delighted to open LinkedIn's new office at 4 Wilton Park. This expanded EMEA HQ - LinkedIn's largest office outside the US - is a strong endorsement of Ireland as a destination for global investment. "Over the past 15 years, LinkedIn Ireland has grown significantly, now employing over 2,000 people. This is a testament to Ireland's talented workforce and tech expertise." Building on this, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky added: "When we decided to put our EMEA headquarters in Dublin back in 2010, we started with three employees, and now we're more than 2,000 strong. "None of this would be possible without the support of the Irish government and the wider community. We're excited to continue shaping a brighter future of work together." Sustainability is at the core of the campus, which has been designed to operate at net-zero carbon, and is in the process of achieving LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certifications, among the highest global standards for environmental performance and employee wellbeing. Sustainability is at the core of the campus, which has been designed to operate at net-zero carbon, and is in the process of achieving LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certifications, among the highest global standards for environmental performance and employee wellbeing. The site features hydroponic gardens producing over 90kg of fresh ingredients per month, rooftop beehives, and a focus on locally sourced food. The project utilised responsibly sourced materials, such as those with recycled content, take-back programs, and bio-based materials Another key feature of the campus is the new LinkedIn Dublin Community Space, a free venue for local nonprofits to host events that help connect underserved communities to economic opportunity. Since launching in the previous building, the Community Space has hosted nearly 200 events for more than 300 organisations in the past year alone, welcoming over 10,000 attendees, with LinkedIn employees also volunteering their time and expertise to support these initiatives. Sue Duke, Head of LinkedIn Ireland, commented: "The opening of 4 Wilton Park, and the significant investment behind it, highlights the pivotal role our office plays in LinkedIn's global growth. "Our team in Dublin is central to delivering LinkedIn's vision of creating economic opportunity for everyone, whether that's developing AI tools to better connect jobseekers and employers or working with policymakers on future skills. " See more stories here.

Vincent Deorio CEO, Mike Davidson Sales and Marketing, and Ben Walker Sr Architectural Manager at RedT homes, share what it's taking to grow their company into a regional production builder that is offering LEED platinum homes. Their unique business model incorporates land acquisition, entitlement and design, architecture, and construction along with real estate-focused marketing and sales. Their focus on integrated design and thoughtful execution is helping them reimagine what sustainable development, construction, and sales means in Colorado.RedT HomesLEED for HomesbuildCAST #9-2022 Sand Adomatis and the Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum

What does it really mean to be a sustainable hotel?In this episode, Ben Webster, General Manager of Hotel Marcel, joins us to break down how his property became the first and only all-electric, solar-powered, LEED Platinum-certified, fossil-fuel-free hotel in the U.S..From historic preservation to cutting-edge energy solutions, Ben shares insights for hoteliers looking to embrace sustainability, the real costs (and savings) of going green, and why so many companies talk the talk but don't walk the walk when it comes to hosting sustainable events.Key Topics:What does it truly mean for a hotel to be sustainable?How does the hotel engage guests in its sustainability efforts?The Challenges and Trends in Sustainable HospitalityWhy do many Fortune 500 companies claim to prioritize sustainability but fail to book sustainable venues?If you're in hospitality, this episode is a wake-up call—because sustainability isn't just a trend; it's the future.Watch the FULL episode here: https://youtu.be/s5wShlHrLAcJoin the conversation on today's episode on The Modern Hotelier LinkedIn pageThe Modern Hotelier is produced, edited, and published by Make More MediaLinks:Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-webster-cha-91390181/Hotel Marcel: https://www.hotelmarcel.com/For full show notes head to: https://themodernhotelier.com/episode/134Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-...Connect with Steve and David:Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E...David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mil...

By highlighting cost savings, clients can see how efficient water treatment impacts their bottom line. Sustainability isn't just a trendy term—it's about implementing practical practices that protect our planet for current and future generations. By adopting sustainable strategies, we can conserve resources, cut costs, and create lasting benefits for both the environment and our client's businesses. In our latest episode of the Scaling UP! H2O Podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with James Courtney, CWT, LEED AP of CSC Technologies an advocate for water sustainability, who shared actionable insights on how water professionals can effectively embrace sustainability while adding value to their clients. Meet James Courtney: A Champion for Sustainability In our enlightening conversation, James shared his journey in the water industry and emphasized the vital role that water professionals play in promoting sustainability. He stated, "We help our customers by saving them money on water, electricity, and fuel." This highlights how our work not only benefits the environment but also leads to significant financial savings for our clients. Sustainability: More Than Just a Buzzword Sustainability means optimizing our resources. As James noted, "We operate in this space where we are directly responsible for the sustainability of our customers.” Water treaters have a unique opportunity to minimize their clients' carbon footprints while improving efficiency. Whether it's running boilers without scale, optimizing cooling towers, or maximizing cycles of conductivity, every action contributes to a greener future. James also cautioned against greenwashing, reminding us that not all practices labeled as "green" deliver real benefits. We must be vigilant and ensure that our sustainability efforts  Educating and Empowering Clients Understanding water and energy usage is essential for effective water management. James encourages water professionals to educate their clients about their consumption patterns. “Clients often don't realize that overusing chemicals or wasting water is a problem,” he explained. By illustrating the cost savings—like reducing their electricity bills or fuel costs—clients can connect the dots between efficient water treatment and their bottom line. Harnessing Data One of James's most compelling stories was about using smart meters to identify inefficiencies. He shared, “Meters give you information; information gives you the opportunity to find solutions to problems you didn't even know you had.” In one instance, a client's building was using half a million gallons of water due to a blocked condensate receiver. The installation of a meter enabled the team to identify the issue and prevent unnecessary water loss, ultimately leading to significant cost savings for the client. James's team also tackled a fascinating case with two identical LEED Platinum buildings. Even though they were built exactly the same, one consumed significantly more power. By analyzing minute-by-minute energy data, they pinpointed the problem, leading to solutions that not only enhanced efficiency but also inspired other buildings in the community to adopt similar practices. The Impact of Visibility James highlighted an intriguing study involving a housing development where identical homes were built. In half of these homes, energy meters were placed indoors, allowing residents to see their energy usage, while the other half had meters located outdoors. The results were striking: “The houses with visible indoor meters used less energy simply because people could see it,” James explained. Residents began to turn energy monitoring into a game, challenging themselves to reduce their consumption. This simple shift towards visibility in daily energy use not only heightened awareness among residents but also nurtured a culture of energy-saving habits. As James aptly put it, “What gets measured gets managed.” Engaging clients in enjoyable and measurable ways can significantly drive sustainability efforts. Final Thoughts James's insights remind us of the significant role water professionals play in fostering a sustainable future. By leveraging data and educating our clients, we can create meaningful change that benefits both our communities and the environment. Together, let's continue to explore the importance of sustainability practices that protect our generation and the ones to come. Thank you for being part of the Scaling UP! H2O community. Together, let's continue to educate ourselves and each other on the importance of sustainability practices that benefit both our generation and those to come. Stay curious, stay informed, and keep scaling up your knowledge! Timestamps 01:28 - Trace Blackmore shares what he is thankful for, and extends gratitude to the listeners and to AWT for the 2024 Innovation Award, and shares his family's Thanksgiving traditions 15:18 - Interview with James Courtney, CWT 58:00 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals 01:01:05 - Drop by Drop with James McDonald  Connect with James Courtney Phone: +1 443 878 2407 Email: james@csctech2o.com Website: https://www.csctech2o.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-courtney-cwt-leed-ap-379a6877/ Read or Download James Courtney's Press Release HERE Guest Resources Mentioned Check if your seafood is sustainable here Check your water footprint here Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone I Said This You Heard That by Kathleen Edelman LEED AP O+M Class More than half of energy use in homes is for heating and air conditioning article The Last Optimist by Mark Mills (Podcast) The United States uses a mix of energy sources article Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned Alton Brown's turkey recipe, Romancing The Bird Donate To Our 6K World Vision Team Learn how to make your own 6K World Vision Team Industrial Water Week Resources The Rising Tide Mastermind Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses Submit a Show Idea AWT (Association of Water Technologies) 386 Industrial Water Week 2024: Boiler Tuesday 004 It's Not Easy Being Green! 325 Rising Together: Conquering Challenges through Collective Support Drop By Drop with James In today's episode, we're thinking about control ranges. There are a few trains of thought on control ranges. Which tests and readings really need a control range applied to them? How wide or narrow should the control range be? It's something one should consider carefully. I have seen control ranges applied to every test parameter for a makeup, such as city water, that the user had absolutely no control over. Are these control ranges really necessary? Sometimes, they are, especially if the makeup source is susceptible to changes in water quality, such as total hardness, which can impact downstream softener performance. I've also seen control ranges so large a bus could slide through them sideways. What good is such a wide control range doing for the water system? Nothing was actually being controlled. I've seen control ranges that were so unreasonably narrow that the parameters were almost ALWAYS out of range as well. What good does that serve? Is a better control system needed to meet these narrow ranges or is a wider control range more fitting instead? A lot of you out there use field service report programs that turn red, green, and sometimes yellow when a parameter is outside the control range. Not having good and proper control ranges can make that field service report's color coding nearly useless because it is always too red or even too green and not actually reflecting the true stressed or controlled state of the system. Control ranges that are too tight may yield field service reports that are red all the time, which will lead to either the end user ignoring the colors or being annoyed by the report always looking red. Control ranges that are too broad may not show the true state of stress the system is under and lead to more problems down the road. Lastly, I've even seen reps be pressured by their customers to avoid red color coding as much as possible, leading to either uselessly wide control ranges or no control ranges at all. This can be a touchy subject, but your control ranges must be meaningful and useful. It may take some finesse to get everyone on the same side of the table on this but seeing a little red when appropriate TODAY beats dealing with the impact of a failed water system and wasted energy and water TOMORROW. Events for Water Professionals Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.

Can sustainable buildings actually save you money? Paul Paterson, founder of Elevation Sustainable Building Solutions, explains how energy-efficient designs don't have to cost more - and can even reduce both, building and operational expenses. With decades of experience in engineering and construction, Paul shares his journey from Scotland to Dubai and discusses how he's closing the 'performance gap' to make buildings more efficient. You'll learn about common misconceptions, like why achieving Leed Platinum certification isn't enough, and the innovative materials and technologies that are driving the future of green building. Tune in to hear how smart design can save the planet—and your wallet. To explore more about Paul Paterson and his work, you can follow him on Linkedin or visit his website elevationcarbon.io. Join me, Ladina, on this green journey, and don't forget to subscribe for more insightful conversations about sustainable living and architecture and drop us a review. If you have suggestions for future guests or topics, I'd love to hear from you on my socials! Let's explore the world of green architecture, one conversation at a time. Contact:  Ladina ⁠⁠@ladinaschoepf⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠buildinggreenshow.com Produced by: ⁠⁠marketyourarchitecture.com⁠

Hopes to build 32 residences for seasonal performers Hudson Valley Shakespeare has applied to the Philipstown Planning Board to begin building a 32-bed residential compound for its performers, who have been housed at a hotel in Fishkill. Adam Stolorow, an attorney for HVS, and architect Susan Rodriguez introduced the project to the board on Oct. 17, years earlier than anticipated in the master plan approved for the theater organization in July. HVS, known until a rebranding this year as the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, broke ground last month on the first phase of its new home at the former Garrison Golf Course, an open-air theater with concessions, bathroom and back-of-house buildings. The nonprofit had said that actor lodging would follow in five to 15 years. Instead, HVS would like to begin construction in 2025. Davis McCallum, HVS's artistic director, said on Tuesday (Oct. 22) that a $10 million state grant for the theater, along with other funding awards, has helped the organization close the gap in a fundraising campaign for actor lodging. During a groundbreaking ceremony in September, HVS said $50 million in private and public funding had been raised for the theater, ecological restoration at the property and financial reserves, with an additional $8 million needed for the lodging. "We're still diligently raising money to make the artist lodging possible, and won't be in a position to proceed until that effort is successful," he said. In its application, HVS wants to start building the residences as the theater complex is being constructed and have performers occupy the units for the 2026 season. With 12 fewer units than the 44 approved in the master plan, the impacts will be "either the same or less as what was previously studied," said Stolorow. In place of hotel rooms, actors would spend the festival's season living in one of five residential buildings forming an L-shaped compound in the northwest section of HVS's 97-acre property. Four of the buildings - two-story cottages totaling 1,000 square feet each - would have two separate bedrooms with a private bath on each floor, and a kitchen and living area off the entrance. An additional 16 one-bedroom units with kitchens and bathrooms would be contained in a fifth "barn" building totaling 2,500 square feet. Attached to the building is a common kitchen and dining area, along with a laundry room. Set among existing and newly planted trees, the buildings would have gray metal roofs and natural wood siding, said Rodriguez. "They all have porches and a connection to the natural environment," she said. Philipstown law would prohibit artists from occupying the housing for more than nine consecutive months. During its offseason, HVS would be allowed to rent the units to guests for stays of less than a month. Sen. Charles Schumer visited Philipstown in August to announce a $1.5 million federal grant for the outdoor theater, which will be the first purpose-built theater in the nation certified LEED Platinum, the highest rating for sustainable design. It will have solar panels, a green roof, natural ventilation and rainwater-capture systems.

Stunning architecture, attention to details, service that includes champagne everytime you pass through the grand lobby... the list can go on and on. General Manager Attila AE Domby speaks on the history of thsi LEED Platinum property that is Kimpton's first verture on a new frontier. Well known in the US Kimpton is raising the bar in the city where west meets east. Speaking of bars there is a well provisioned rooftop SkyBar as well a one on the main floor. Quality dining experiences, and an extensive Hungarian wine selection really enhance the stay. I apologize for the slight echo, but imagine this interview happening in their wine gallery!

New theater scheduled to open in 2026 After several years of reviews, public meetings and modifications, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival on July 18 received its final set of approvals from Philipstown for the first phase of development at its new home at the former Garrison Golf Course. Planning Board approval sets the stage for a groundbreaking in the fall for a 13,850-square-foot outdoor theater on the former 11th hole, which provides an expansive view of the Hudson River. Chris Davis, who owned the course, donated 98 acres to the festival, which moved to the site in 2022 after staging its productions for more than 30 years on the grounds of Boscobel on Route 9D. Once completed, the structure will be the first purpose-built theater in the nation rated LEED Platinum. Among other criteria, the international standard - which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - judges buildings on how well they reduce global warming, protect water resources, enhance biodiversity and improve a community's quality of life. Platinum is the highest of four levels. Renderings by StudioGang The site plan was initially presented to the Philipstown Town Board in 2020 and revised several times to address concerns by Planning Board members and neighbors about issues such as noise and traffic. Plans for an inn and an indoor theater were removed from the first phase, more trees will be planted along Route 9 and a parking lot positioned on a wetland was relocated. Artistic Director Davis McCallum said this week that he appreciated the time that Town Board, Planning Board and Conservation Board members dedicated to the project. He also thanked residents who offered feedback during five public hearings. "We tried to listen to the community with openness and curiosity about how we could adapt this project to serve the community best," he said. "The process has yielded a better outcome." The theater will have solar panels, a green roof, natural ventilation and rainwater capture systems and will use low-carbon building materials. McCallum said that HVSF hasn't determined how much the project will cost, but that because of "quiet fundraising" and a $10 million state grant, it will begin construction on the theater in the fall and open the facility before the 2026 season. Since 2022, the festival has been staging its plays in a tent elsewhere on the site. The site was designed by Studio Gang, whose recent projects include the Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Its design there drew acclaim for its flowing and curvaceous granite interior that evokes desert canyons and beehives. "For us, they have delivered a design that is beautiful, sustainable and consonant with the landscape of the Hudson Highlands," McCallum said. Although the theater will have fewer seats than the tent, it won't include support poles that block views. In addition, McCallum said it will allow HVSF to extend its season from early September to mid-October, allowing for weekday matinees for students. The 2025 season is being envisioned as a "farewell to the tent," according to HVSF. McCallum said next year's schedule will be announced in October. He hinted that the company has known for years what show it will perform to open the theater in 2026. He wouldn't budge when pressed for a reveal but said: "It will be the fulfillment of something that we've wanted for many years, which is that moment when the actors can appear over the hillside and approach the theater. That's the thing that I'm most looking forward to on the first night."

What's behind the housing affordability crisis in America?Real estate prices are off the charts, and unless you happen to be a high-net-worth individual, it's nearly impossible to buy a home right now.So, WTF is going on? Is there anything we can do about it?Angela Rozmyn is the cocreator of Women's Personal Finance, a platform that provides empowering financial education for women and nonbinary people.She is also a passionate advocate for affordable, sustainable housing, working a day job for a company that builds LEED Platinum real estate projects.On this episode of Queer Money, Angela joins us to discuss the myriad reasons for the housing affordability crisis in America.Angela explains why the supply of homes has not kept up with demand, how interest rates impact housing costs, and what's behind the NIMBY attitudes that drive real estate prices up.Listen in to understand how it impacts a community when its service workers can't afford to live where they work and find out what you can do to advocate for affordable housing in your city.Topics Covered What makes Angela an expert in the realm of affordable housing issuesWhy it's important to consider transportation costs as part of your housing expensesHow it impacts our communities when service workers can't afford to live where they workWho benefits from increasing home prices and who does not6 reasons for the housing affordability crisis in AmericaWhy the supply of homes has not kept up with demand in the USHow interest rates, permitting issues, labor costs and zoning affect real estate pricesWhy developers aren't building starter homes anymoreWhat's behind NIMBY attitudes in the US and how they impact housing costsThe advantages of adaptive reuse, i.e.: turning vacant commercial buildings into affordable housingAngela's take on investors who bought up SFHs during the Great RecessionWhy people are migrating to high-density cities in the Sunbelt (and what to consider before you join them)Providing affordable housing for the growing number of single occupantsWhat you can do to advocate for affordable housing in your communityFor the resources and to connect with our guests, get the show notes at: https://queermoneypodcast.com/subscribe Follow us:Queer Money Instagram Queer Money YouTubeQueer Money on TiktokDownload your FREE Queer Money Kickstarter a 9-step Guide to Kickstart Your Journey to Financial Independence

In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Funt, VP of Marketing at Fitzrovia Real Estate, to uncover their transformative approach to multifamily housing and property management. Prepare to dive into the innovative strategies that Fitzrovia employs to create vibrant, luxury communities that redefine urban living. Ryan shares insights on how Fitzrovia is revolutionizing the rental market by integrating best-in-class hospitality practices from the hotel industry and focusing on sustainable, high-performance building designs. Key Highlights & Takeaways: Redefining Urban Living: Discover how Fitzrovia is setting new standards in multifamily housing with a unique blend of luxury and functionality.Innovative Property Management: Learn about Fitzrovia's hotel-inspired hospitality services and how they enhance the resident experience. Sustainable Development: Uncover Fitzrovia's commitment to eco-friendly building practices and their pursuit of LEED Platinum and Zero Carbon -Building standards. Operational Excellence: Explore the strategies behind Fitzrovia's efficient event coordination and seamless community management. Future Vision: Get a glimpse into Ryan Funt's vision for the future of Toronto's rental market and the growth trajectory of Fitzrovia. Join us for an enlightening conversation that delves into the cutting-edge approaches and visionary leadership driving Fitzrovia's success in the real estate industry. Digible: ⁠https://digible.com/⁠ Fiona: ⁠https://www.myfiona.com/⁠ Leave a Spotify Review: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3LfoEdU⁠ Leave an Apple Review: ⁠https://apple.co/3AA2zRj⁠

In this bonus episode of the Passive House Podcast, co-host Ilka Cassidy is at the Sustainability Symposium hosted by Green Building United. In the first interview Ilka talks with Robert Fleming, Brian Fullen, Carolina Downey and Sarah Harvey of FCA  along with Kayla Reddington and Sarah Murphy of Turner Construction about their sustainability framwork. In the second interview Ilka speaks with Scott Kelly and Drew Lavine of Re:vision Architecture about  their project, the first Living Building Challenge (LBC) Core certified project in the world, which is also LEED Platinum and Passive House certified. They discuss collaborative and accountable approaches to setting and meeting project sustainability goals and targets.https://www.fcarchitects.com/https://www.turnerconstruction.com/https://revisionarch.com/Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

Laura Purdy, General Manager at Exhibition Place in Toronto, joins Earth Care for episode 5 of the Sustainability in the Live Music Industry Series.  Exhibition Place, located in Toronto, Ontario, is Canada's premier destination for conventions, exhibitions, events and entertainment. The building's history dates back to 1750 and was properly established in 1879. Fast-forward to present day, Exhibition place has grown into a world class venue that hosts numerous trade and consumer shows each year, including the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)! The event space has also become a leading participant in environmental sustainability. For the past 30 years, Exhibition Place has participated in the GREENSmart program which includes the promotion of sustainable development, environmental initiatives and leading edge green technologies and practices. They also signed the Net Zero Carbon events pledge which is a global initiative to address climate change across the events and meetings industry to achieve net zero by 2050. Additionally, Exhibition Place is LEED Certified, which is an international symbol of sustainability excellence and green building leadership. In this episode, Laura Purdy takes us behind the scenes at Exhibition Place to better understand the sustainability initiatives in motion. Laura explains how the site has achieved LEED certification, with Enercare Centre being LEED Platinum and Beanfield Centre being LEED Silver. We also discuss the various green practices that have been implemented such as retrofitting, district energy systems, green roofs, waste management programs and rescue bees! MORE FROM SARAH: Take the FREE #FansChooseToReuse pledge here and commit to reducing plastic bottle pollution at live music events! Get 10% off a HYDAWAY Collapsible Bottle with the discount code PODCAST here **Shipping only in Canada, promo ends July 1, 2024** Connect with Sarah on Instagram  Learn more about Earth Care

When Wells Fargo moved its offices to Las Colinas, it had a specific goal in mind—for its building to achieve LEED Platinum and be net zero. In this episode, Nate DeVore, Vice President of Corgan's Commercial Studio, gives us an inside look at how Wells Fargo teamed up with Corgan to plan and design the first net-positive corporate campus ever built in the U.S.  Comprised of two office towers totaling 800,000+ square feet along with a 4,000-square foot parking garage, Corgan collected empirical research, ran energy models, and analyzed data to calculate how the building could reach 5% above net zero by reducing energy usage intensity (EUI) per year—designing a building that produced more energy on-site than it consumes. Discover how Corgan incorporated innovative energy initiatives, including solar panels, electricity, efficient equipment, sustainable building materials, natural sunlight, and self-tinting windows to reduce carbon emissions and reach a net positive. Join us to learn about sustainable design and how corporations are finding new ways to protect our environment.   Visit: https://www.Corgan.com/  Also connect with us on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CorganInc/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorganInc/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/CorganInc  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corgan  Video Produced by: Corgan Have Questions? We'd love to hear from you.  Email: communications@corgan.com

In the second episode in Transforming Energy's Lab Notes series, guest host Molly Rettig takes listeners on a journey to Mountain Village, a Yup'ik community working with NREL researchers to design and build super energy-efficient homes amid the challenges of extreme weather and permafrost. Through local collaboration and innovative research and technology, these efforts not only address pressing housing needs but also empower communities to adapt to the changing climate while preserving their traditional way of life.   Housed in the farthest-north LEED Platinum building in the world, the Applied Research for Communities in Extreme Environments (ARCEE) Center focuses on advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy in extreme climates, addressing Arctic and climate-threatened communities, and expanding NREL's wealth of experience in building technologies. In each project, researchers are working hand in hand with communities to make sure these technologies work for their climate, their economy, and their culture.This episode was hosted by Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle, written and produced by Allison Montroy and Kaitlyn Stottler, and edited by Joe DelNero and Brittany Falch. Graphics are by Brittnee Gayet. Our title music is written and performed by Ted Vaca and episode music by Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast is created by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. We express our gratitude and acknowledge that the land we are on is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples. Email us at podcast@nrel.gov. Follow NREL on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

Luke LeungLuke is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Fellow; He is also a Centennial Fellow from The Pennsylvania State University Architectural Engineering Department; Board of Directors for USGBC (United State Green Building Council), Illinois; Chairman of the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) Committee on “Tall Buildings”; Chairman of the Building Pressure Committee, Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings; Sustainable Committee with Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; Part Time Professor at IIT; Member of the Chicago Sister Cities Program with China; MBA from University of Chicago, MS and BAE from Architectural Engineering at Penn State University.Luke Leung is the Director of the Sustainability Engineering Studio for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP. He is the incoming Chair of ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee; Team leader for ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force, Commercial Buildings; Group Leader for LCA and Embodied Carbon, ASHRAE Decarbonization Task Force; National Renewable Energy Laboratory IN2 Incubator Industry Advisor; BOMA Toronto, Health Committee Co-Chair. His work includes Burj Khalifa, the world's current tallest man-made structure; Multiple times “Excellence in Engineering” award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); Selected projects also include Pertamina Tower (Net Zero Supertall), General Motors Global Headquarters, XiongAn Net Zero Development, Beijing Finance Street, Embassy of Ottawa in Canada, Embassy in Beijing, Lakeside – 55 million sqft low energy development, a LEED Platinum building with the first large scale horizontal wind turbine in the city of Chicago; etc., and has served as a member of the editorial team for the CTBUH guide Natural Ventilation in High-Rise Office Buildings, ASHRAE “Design Guide for Tall, Supertall, Megatall Building Systems”, among other publications.TeamHosted by Kristof IrwinProduced by M. WalkerEdited by Nico Mignardi

In this episode, Cherise is joined by Sarah Kennedy, AIA, Associate, and Michael Kehl, AIA, LEED - Associate Principal at SCB based in Chicago with offices also in San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle. They discuss the design of the visionary multifamily housing project “Woolsey Gardens” in South Berkeley, CA.You can see the project here as you listen along.The Woolsey Gardens' goal is to act as a replicable, sustainable, and financeable alternative for future affordable housing developments located on small, infill parcels. To achieve this, the project will feature 100% permanently affordable units, 100% ownership units, Zero Net Energy sustainability, community-centered spaces as well as mass timber construction and LEED Platinum certification.If you enjoy this episode, visit arcat.com/podcast for more. If you're a frequent listener of Detailed, you might enjoy similar content at Gābl Media. Mentioned in this episode:ARCAT Detailed on Youtube

The Falcons' home is a model of green architecture on a massive scale—they're the first professional sports venue in the US to be LEED Platinum and the first stadium worldwide to be TRUE Platinum-certified. It's not easy making something this large ‘green'. Join us on-site to meet some of the leaders who integrated sustainability into the design and building process. We'll also visit parts of the stadium you'll never see during games, to hear how MBS keeps the fans in mind with every eco-conscious decision they make. To learn more, visit www.builtpodcast.com.

In this bonus episode, we share a LIVE conversation from the 2023 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Washington D.C.Cherise is joined by Brittany Storm, Sustainability Manager at MAPEI. Discover MAPEI's commitment to minimizing environmental impact and promoting healthier buildings, as Brittany discusses the dynamic evolution of sustainability trends, including a focus on carbon reduction. Gain valuable insights from the case study of a LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge project, showcasing the company's dedication to creating a greener and more sustainable future.If you enjoy this episode, visit arcat.com/podcast for more. If you're a frequent listener of Detailed, you might enjoy similar content at Gābl Media. Mentioned in this episode:ARCAT Detailed on Youtube

Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SRK) is one of the largest diamond manufacturers in the world. The diamond industry as a whole has been very difficult to decarbonize, and more broadly, the manufacturing sector is extremely challenging to decarbonize. Manufacturers have to make sure they are calculating their emissions at every step of the way from the supply chain, to business practices and the actual manufacturing facilities. As a purpose-driven company that focuses on sustainability, SRK has been a leader in decarbonizing their manufacturing facilities. SRK achieved LEED Platinum for their two manufacturing facilities in Surat, India - SRK House and SRK Empire - and these facilities remain one of the highest performing LEED buildings in the world. Recently, they committed to achieving net zero for these two facilities and are on track to meet this achievement by 2024. This session will go through how to begin and assess your building's performance and how to put in place a successful roadmap to reach net zero, as well as cover the challenges. This session will go through the challenges and roadblocks to decarbonize manufacturing buildings, how you set a plan in place and establish a roadmap to get to net zero, and also offer best practices. SRK has teamed up with leadership collective The Global Network for Zero to further accelerate the company's net zero targets

Welcome to our 6th anniversary and the start of season 7 of Transit Unplugged. Host Paul Comfort has a special opening reflecting on the past 270+ episodes so far and what lies ahead down the road. In our interview this week, we have Randy Clarke, GM and CEO of WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) https://www.wmata.com/, chatting with Paul from his new LEED Platinum office building.In his first year as CEO, Randy has:fixed safety issues with his trainsimproved frequencyincreased ridershipreduced fare evasionworked to reduce crime on the systemand begun an ambitious project to update the Metro bus routesBy any accounts, a successful first year on the job, but...But WMATA faces a looming budget shortfall larger than many agencies' entire budget. Learn how he's approaching the crisis and what he's doing to protect service levels and his people.After the interview, regular contributor Mike Bismeyer reflects on Randy's leadership and everything else he does across the transit industry.Coming up next week we have part 2 of our special new CEO roundtable recorded live at APTA TRANSform Conference and EXPO. In part two you'll hear about the projects they have on the go, what new technologies they have their eyes on, and what they want to celebrate at their agency.If you have a question or comment, email us at info@transitunplugged.com.Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo, Passionate About Moving the World's People.Randy Clarke Has Boosted WMATA, But a Budget Crisis Looms00:00 Introduction and Reflection on the Sixth Anniversary of the Transit Unplugged Podcast01:09 Interview with Randy Clarke, GM of WMATA: Leading a Major Transit Agency and Facing Looming Challenges02:07 Randy Clarke's Journey as CEO of WMATA03:04 Challenges and Achievements at WMATA05:58 Addressing the Fiscal Crisis in WMATA10:09 Dealing with the Fiscal Cliff, Funding, and Budgets17:09 Fighting Fare Evasion and Supporting Low Income Riders19:21 Delivering a Bus Route Optimization Project in Only a Year21:35 Efforts to Curb Crime in the Transit System25:48 What Randy Enjoys Most About His Job30:16 Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer: Reflection on Leadership and Mentorship32:12 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

Since it started measuring waste diversion from landfills in 2006, when it recycled only 4.6% of materials collected, Seattle's Lumen Field has increased its recycling, composting, and donations efforts to avoid sending 90% of the waste generated by fans to the dump. Meet Christy Briggs, Logistics and Sustainability Manager at First & Goal Incorporated, who leads Lumen Field's recycling and other sustainability programs. The stadium has a high bar to meet, as just across town, Climate Pledge Arena was the country's first LEED Platinum sports venue and has achieved similar waste diversion rates. Of course, sports thrive on competition, and Lumen Field has introduced innovative approaches to collection, sorting, and putting items into the right reuse stream. For example, after each major event, Lumen Field rolls out a portable materials recovery facility — a sorting system like the ones used at recycling transfer stations that separates packaging, food waste, and other items.Sports and concerts connect communities, bringing crowds together from around a city, state, or nation, and those fans toss massive volumes of cups, food service items, programs, and memorabilia. A football game or Taylor Swift concert could be among the most waste-creating events in our society. Many stadiums and sports venues are stepping up to the challenge. Lumen Field's sustainability efforts go back to its construction, when 35% of the concrete from the demolished Kingdome, the stadium that stood where it is today, was used in the new building. First & Goal Incorporated, which also manages the Seattle Seahawks, has developed programs to reduce environmental impacts that include recycling sod through donations to local parks, sourcing Green Seal-certified janitorial supplies, recycling thousands of gallons of cooking oil, and during a major renovation of the field the company donated 96.3% of the used furniture, carpet, and other materials collected. You can learn more about Lumen Field and its sustainability efforts at https://www.lumenfield.com/venue-info/sustainability

  Norbert Szircsak is Head of ESG Strategic Advisory Services for Colliers International based in Budapest, Hungary. Norbert started his career with Colliers International - Hungary in August 2007, joining the Valuation and Advisory services team.   Norbert has over 15 years' experience in the real estate and green building industry. He has been directly involved in more than 30 LEED certification projects, including Commercial Interiors,  Existing Buildings and New Construction projects. In the majority of these projects, he has been the overall project manager. Hungary's first certification in LEED version 4, which is also the first certified office building in the countryside, and the first LEED Platinum certification are on his & his team's list of accomplishments. Norbert has also contributed to more than 10 BREEAM In-Use certifications, similarly in project manager roles. Norbert graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Gábor Dénes College in 2009. He obtained his local appraiser qualification in 2009 and is also a member of the Hungarian Real Estate Association. Furthermore, in 2009, he obtained the LEED Green Associate and in 2013 the LEED Accredited Professional with specialty qualification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2019, he became a WELL Accredited Professional.   Show Highlights Get a better understanding of Hungary and the European regions. Usage of renewables  A peak into what rating systems are easier and harder to apply   Taxonomy   European Green Deal  Connecting engineering and technical backgrounds into a green building career. Challenges building within an advanced green building environment.  90% of Collier's work is green building certified with green building advisory for various types of buildings. Learn where green building is expandings in competitive markets. A total carbon plan to reduce your carbon footage with electrification and the renewable energy production on site. The grid infrastructure development needs.        Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

"I want to inspire others who are doing this work but based on a different set of priorities, who understand that this priority of sustainability, of efficiencies of resources and processes, of reduction of wastes of all sorts including the carbon is valued. And you should be incorporating those priorities into your project." Steve Matloff is a “sustainable real estate RE-developer,” CEO and founder of Tradicient, which is a business name that combines the two words, “tradition” and “efficient.”   Steve believes that the majority of our built environment was designed and developed for a different world and different times. Over the years, the world has changed significantly, with population growth, the introduction of convenience products, changes in the definition of quality of life, and increased consumption. Our existing built environment, including millions of homes and buildings, was not designed to meet these new circumstances. Therefore, redevelopment is necessary to prioritize efficiency in resource utilization, waste reduction, and urban development. He shares his personal journey and how his love for architecture and design combined with his awareness of environmental impact led him to focus on sustainability in the built environment. He emphasizes the need for a market that offers existing homes with modern functionality and efficiency.  He started out with his own family home, built in 1922. He wanted to find professionals who could maintain the historical characteristics of the home while making it efficient. However, he couldn't find anyone who specialized in this type of work. Steve emphasizes the importance of renovating and retrofitting the existing built environment instead of starting from scratch, as the waste generated from demolishing and rebuilding would be immense.  To address this gap, Steve formed Tradicient. He sought to make his own family's home a LEED Platinum-certified property, the highest level of certification for sustainable homes. He collaborated with professionals on maintaining the aesthetic and historical characteristics of the home while incorporating efficient and sustainable features. Overall, Steve's goal with Tradicient is to create a market for efficient, sustainable redevelopment of existing homes. He believes it's crucial to preserve and enhance the built environment while aligning it with modern sustainability standards. LA Times article by Lisa Boone about Steve's family home and its landscaping done by FormLA Steve Matloff:  steve@tradicient.com

In this episode of The Three Bells, our host, Criena Gehrke sits down with Senior Architect Naseema Asif and Studio Director Peter Emerson, from international design collective RIOS. The two share their insights on what goes into making a project successful, from incorporating evolution to exploring unanticipated angles and embracing a touch of 'messiness' throughout the process.External references: RIOS website The Music Center Plaza San Diego's Balboa Park Houston's Lynn Watt Square For Performing Arts Gold Coast Hi-Lights Lampposts of progress: Hi-Lights Gold Coast Council votes to remove public art installation 'Hi-Lights' from the M1 at Yatala Naseema Asif Bio:Naseema is a Senior Architect at RIOS. She has been the Project Architect on commercial and institutional projects ranging from a community center in Playa Vista to the transformation of a 1980s office park into creative office space. She is a trusted architect and manager, orchestrating complex project teams and projects with a focused vision on the end result. These projects track an ongoing exploration into the integration of tools from architecture and landscape architecture to shape spaces that respond to the unique relationship between a proposed program and the site's environment. She adeptly blends disciplines to create places that blur traditional boundaries and redefine our conceptions of place. Naseema is inspired by the notion of craft and tectonics. Her personal interest in making manifests through construction as an art form, exploring the juxtaposition of materials and textures in projects which transcend disciplines. Her expertise and experience with sustainability is evident in her work on the Resort at Playa Vista. The green building strategies she instituted for this project led to a LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of environmental recognition. Her current projects include Music Center Plaza Renovation, which will enhance the Center's connection to the community by making it more accessible to the public, and The Park, a transformation of San Diego Tech Center into and amenity-filled active landscape to augment the workplace community. Peter Emerson Bio:Peter has built a career around complex projects and integrated design. Since joining RIOS in 2016, Peter has quickly contributed these skills to become an integral part of the practice. His wealth of experience designing and building campus landscapes, parks, and iconic public spaces have been an asset to some of our most complex projects. Peter melds landscape, planning, and architecture at all scales of design, while working closely with stakeholders, collaborators, and clients to create inspiring places for people to live, work, and play. His experience spans levels of scale and expertise, from organic farming and systems all the way to international experience designing landscapes for U.S. embassies that promote ecological diplomacy and design excellence. His projects find balance, whether it be between security and accessibility like at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and grounds, or design and programming like at Jones Plaza in the Houston Theater District. He is a registered landscape architect and a 2009 Olmsted Scholar.

Jess visits actor and environmental champion Ed Begley, Jr. at his LEED Platinum-certified home to talk all things green.

As a lifelong hunter, David Duncan, CEO & Proprietor of Silver Oak in Napa Valley, has a keen appreciation for nature. This has driven David and Silver Oak to pursue many sustainability investments, including being the 1st existing winery and new build winery to be LEED Platinum certified and be at the forefront of energy efficiency for the last 20 years. From solar panels to using waste heat to get water up to sanitization temperatures, David dives into the details of Silver Oak's sustainability efforts and how they think about them in terms of long-term return on investment. Detailed Show Notes: Silver Oak's background - founded in 1972Two wineries - Oakville (Napa) and Alexander Valley (Sonoma)~100k cases/year~700 acres of vineyards, ~75% estate owned fruitFour wine brands total, and Oak Cooperage in MissouriSustainability efforts began in the vineyards in the late 90s, and early 2000sOakville winery2006 dumpster fire burnt the winery downWanted to do the right thing in re-building (2008)Installed solar panels and became 1st LEED Platinum winery (existing building)They looked at LED lighting, but it was 3x as expensive at the timeAlexander Valley wineryBuilt in 2014, 1st LEED Platinum winery (new build)A “living building,” which is mostly energy and water useUses ~1 gallon of water per gallon of wine vs. ~7 gallons of water as the industry averageGenerates 105% of annual electric usageAll LED lighting, which is now more cost-effectiveAmmonia chiller for glycol cooling to keep tanks cool - was old-school technology in the 30s and 40s; new technology is very efficientSanitation water uses solar power to heat to 105F, then waste heat from the cooling system adds 10-15F; the rest of the heating uses electricityIt has a 3-4 month peak season (harvest) where electric usage is higher and sometimes pulls from the electric grid; it has a small battery system but not a large oneUsed recycled materials, which reduced painting needsWorking towards LEED certification for other wineriesVineyards - moving towards electric tractors, but haven't bought one yetCooperage - burns scrap wood to bend barrels instead of natural gasROI for sustainability2.5-year payback for Alexander Valley solar system - highest of all investmentsIt looks at the “life cost of building” to calculate ROI, a long-term evaluation - the long-term view matches the long-term production cycle (5 years to produce Silver Oak)No set target IRR cutoff, but ~5-year payback is the approximate cutoffLooks at the impact on employees, which they call “The Whole Bunch” like a bunch of grapes, and assesses the safety of workersHighest payback investments - solar panels and water use to treat barrels using recycled waterSustainability also improves quality - e.g., minimizing water use in vineyardsBarriers to making sustainability investments are often due to 1 chance a year to make changes; Silver Oak does small trials on 1-2 acres to evaluateShares learnings w/ the industry - gives many tours of winery and vineyards, interviews, seminars and conferences, works w/ UC DavisAlso improving packagingMoving towards a lighter glassThey used to send empty bottles to Canada to decorate and then ship them back to CA to fill. For the 1st time in 25 years, Silver Oak Napa Valley will have a paper label to avoid this environmental impact Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Davidge has spent her career at the forefront of biophilic design. Between 2014 and 2021, Mary served as Google's Director of Global Design, where she worked closely with biophilic leaders like Bill Browning and Judi Heerwagen to implement design solutions across Google's campuses that prioritize health, happiness, and the environment. Prior to that, she ran her own firm, where her groundbreaking work in biophilic design and green building helped lay the foundation for certifications like LEED Platinum and the Living Building Challenge. Nowadays, Mary serves on the board of the Biophilic Institute and on the advisory board of the International Living Future Institute Biophilic Design Initiative, advocating tirelessly for biophilic solutions at scale. In this episode, we discuss Mary's career at the intersection of tech and green building, the importance of placemaking, and why greening cities can solve multiple societal problems at once. Show NotesAbout Mary Davidge Google's Mary Davidge Talks Sustainability Changes in Silicon Valley Over the Years (Green Building Matters)Why Does Biophilic Design Make Us Feel So Good? With Bill Browning (Biophilic Solutions)Biophilic Design and the Human Habitat with Dr. Judith Heerwagen (Biophilic Solutions)Terrapin Bright GreenLEED Rating System (U.S. Green Building Council)Living Building Challenge (Living Future)Defining the Worst Type of Street Design (City Lab)What is Placemaking? (ArchDaily)Opinion | Since When Have Trees Existed Only for Rich Americans? (New York Times)The Biophilic InstituteKeywords: Nature, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Green Building, Google, Google Campus, Silicon Valley, Tech, Tech Industry, Design, Architecture, Equity, Environmental Justice, Health

John Ambert, RA, NCARB, LEED Fellow, GPRO, LFA | Architect & Green Building Specialist.    John Ambert is a licensed architect, LEED Fellow, and sustainability subject matter expert with DPR Construction. Since 2006, John has worked to integrate sustainability solutions for more than 100 of the highest performance residential, commercial, mixed-use, office, higher education, health care, and corporate projects in the US. With a deep background in high-performance materials, healthy indoor environments, and low carbon design, John works to implement sustainable construction approaches to minimize the environmental impact of the construction process. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, John holds a Bachelors of Architect with a focus in Sustainable Environments.   Speaker & Presentation Experience   2014: NAVFAC “Wounded Warrior Campus – The first LEED Platinum buildings for the US Military” 2016: SDGE: High Performance Water Solutions for Buildings in So Cal 2017: Designing for High Performance & Zero Energy 2019: Net Zero 2019: “Murph Zero” 2019: SDGBC Conference: “Murph Zero” 2021: SD Living Future Collaborative: Webinar Series – 8 total 2022: San Diego Green Building Conference + Expo: DPR + JUST label   Show Highlights   John shares the evolution of his unique sustainability career and the fellowship that comes with being a LEED Fellow. DPR's influence in quality sustainability to make zero harm to people and the planet.  Pathways for people to explore natural building materials not typically found to create different building types that minimize harm from the traditional ways of building. Tips to overlap green values as a team, as a state, a nation, as a world. Flow state at work - explained.  Avoid getting pigeonholed by a narrow perspective in your education and/or career.  Understanding the various routes and opportunities to a prosperous career.   Policy support of sustainability will be the environmental catalysts for the industry. COVID forced health to the forefront of design criteria to rethink  how we live and work in buildings.    “I'm personally very excited about this revival around health centered design, this focus on making buildings for people, not just buildings for buildings sake. We've been designing buildings in the same way for too long and we aren't focused on making them spaces for people to connect with the world around them, to be productive, and to be happy.” -John Ambert   Get the episode transcript here!!   Show Resource and Information Clarity & Connection  Inward Atomic Habits LinkedIn Twitter Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2022 GBES

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! On today's episode, we talk with Kylie Johnson, Southwest Ohio Regional Director for the Ohio Environmental Council about Environmental Advocacy, Pageants, and Transitioning from Country to City Life.   Read her full bio below.Help us continue to create great content! If you'd like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form Showtimes: 2:44 Nic & Laura Talk about  writing a good email9:18  Interview with Kylie Johnson Starts  11:04  Pageants15:29  Environmental Advocacy21:12  Transitioning from Country to City Life25:31  Field NotesPlease be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review. This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.Connect with Kylie Johnson at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyliejanejohnson/Guest Bio:As the Southwest Ohio Regional Director for the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), Kylie Johnson works to advance environmental justice and make protection of Ohio's land, air, and water a priority of local and state leaders. She began her career with the national nonprofit Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) where she educated high school students about the science, consequences, and solutions of climate change and empowered them to take action. Prior to joining OEC in 2021, Kylie managed the Green Learning Station - a retrofitted gas station transformed into a LEED Platinum certified environmental education center and green infrastructure demonstration site. Kylie earned her B.S. in Conservation Science from Muskingum University and M.S. in Environmental Studies from Ohio University, where she was funded by the USDA Forest Service and Georgetown University to conduct urban composting research in Edinburgh, Scotland; Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore, Maryland.Music CreditsIntro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace MesaOutro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs MullerSupport the show

Today on Too Opinionated, celebrity home builder Scott Hamilton Harris.  Behind every home is a builder. SCOTT HAMILTON HARRIS is different. Not your average building contractor. Not by any means. Unlike other building contractors, Scott has a fresh, inspirational, unique perspective and knowledge about life, building (residential/commercial) and how it all really affects our lives...what we can do to be proactive in making changes to improve the quality of our lives...mentally, emotionally, spiritually. He applies his expertise and insight to every jaw-dropping, creme de la creme, multi-million-dollar property including  LEED Platinum certified home of noted actor-environmentalist, Ed Begley Jr.  Scott is a favorite among a long list of billionaires and celebrities (e.g., Paul Allen, Taio Cruz, actors Kevin James and Kevin Costner, John Paul DeJoria, London's Savoy Hotel, LA's AOC restaurant, San Francisco's Saint Francis Hotel, restaurants for Gordon Ramsay and Michel Mina.  BCG is one of the most respected construction firms in Los Angeles and Scott is deemed one the foremost building (general) contractors and the industry's noted “triple threat” (design, architecture and building) “go-to” experts for residential and commercial properties specializing in environmental (“green”), new technology, renovation, deconstruction, reconstruction, restoration and building as an art form. SHH is an accomplished published writer, photographer who has been covered extensively in the media/press, is the COO of Building Construction Group. Many clients are celebrities, executives of high-ranking entertainment industry companies and other notables. Want to watch: YouTube Meisterkhan Pod (Please Subscribe)

Joe Wanninger, managing director of asset management at Principal Real Estate Investors (the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors), joins the program to discuss the firm's landmark Indeed Tower in Austin, a LEED Platinum project recently named “best project design” by the Urban Land Institute. The award recognizes a completed project that demonstrates excellence in design for architecture, interior design, engineering, planning or other project elements. (09/2022)

Joe Wanninger, managing director of asset management at Principal Real Estate Investors (the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors), joins the program to discuss the firm's landmark Indeed Tower in Austin, a LEED Platinum project recently named “best project design” by the Urban Land Institute. The award recognizes a completed project that demonstrates excellence in design for architecture, interior design, engineering, planning or other project elements. (09/2022)

Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic is a LEED Fellow with extensive experience with IWBI's WELL Building Standard as one of the first Provisional WELL APs, WELL APs, and WELL Faculty in the world. Jen has worked on various WELL Pilots|Projects in almost every typology. Jen is currently overseeing many firsts in WELL, LEED, Net Zero|Carbon Neutral|Net Positive projects in the country and world. Jen also has extensive experience with USGBC's various LEED rating systems.   In her previous roles at Shangri-La; Jen was instrumental in securing the world's 1st LEED Platinum NC certification for an aviation facility, Hangar 25 in Burbank, CA. Hangar 25 was named “Greenest Aviation Facility In the World” and was Net Zero|Net Positive in 2008. Jen also orchestrated the LEED Platinum certification of Citadel Environmental Services under LEED CI. This was the 1st LEED Platinum CI office space in the Tri-City (Glendale/Pasadena/Burbank) area and Net Zero Energy in 2010. One of Jen's most renowned projects is Step Up On Vine, an adaptive reuse Platinum certified LEED Homes Multi-family, permanent supportive housing project for chronically homeless, mentally ill individuals in Hollywood, CA.   Jen was a Peer Reviewer for WELL v1 thru v2, a member of the IWBI Covid-19 and other Respiratory Infections Task Force, and has the unique experience of being a Consultant to both Delos and IWBI. Jen had worked with WELL in various phases on projects globally. Jen's participation in the WELL Portfolio Pilot Program resulted in co-facilitating IWBI's Portfolio Provider Trainings globally. Jen has also been an active member of at least five WELL Advisories. Jen has been a reviewer for USGBC's Greenbuild program multiple times, an item|form reviewer for the WELL AP Exam Maintenance, and a Specs Reviewer for the WELL AP v2 Exam.   Jen has provided tours of hundreds of LEED|WELL registered|certified projects nationally for international and domestic Owners, Developers, Design|Build teams, Consultants, Innovators, Fortune 500 Companies, and more. Jennifer has also provided hundreds of Sustainability|Wellness presentations globally for hundreds of organizations. Jen has been interviewed|published in articles and publications over the past 15 years. Jen is also a content contributor, reviewer and on-screen SME for the WELL Learning Library (WLL); a comprehensive solution for WELL v2 education and survey requirements. Jen has been a 1st through final round Greenbuild education program Reviewer multiple times, a Global Health & Wellness Summit Advisory Board Member and LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee member since receiving the designation. Show Highlights From movie sets to LEED Fellow, Jen's story on how to turn your passion into a successful career and business.  The value of credentials to be an asset in your career, shape your commitment and reflect your work.  WELL's measurable impact on taking care of people in a meaningful way.    A SustainAble Production is the global WELL experts. Their portfolio benchmarking plays to zero and for organizations at scale.  Jen shares partnerships for ESG strategies the market and clients are demanding. The International Well Building Institute has a WELL equity rating coming out that includes what's important holistically for sustainability.  Ideas for the innovators who want to help people move in healthy ways to drive sustainability forward.    “I travel the world teaching WELL, and we even teach it to a lot of our competitors. Again, our dear friends, we want everyone to succeed. We want the movement to succeed. The more people that get it right, the more healthier people we will have in the world living longer, more vibrant lives.” -Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic   Get the episode transcript here!!   Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic's Show Resource and Information LinkedIn Instagram A SustainAble Production The Little Prince Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2022 GBES

In this episode, Cherise is joined by John Marx, AIA, Co-Founding Principal and Chief Artistic Officer at Form4 Architecture in San Francisco, California. John is responsible for developing Form4 Architecture's design vision and philosophical language. In this conversation, John shares his experience and insights into his work on the Innovation Curve Life Science Campus in Palo Alto, California. The project is a 265,895 square-foot, four-building, LEED Platinum life-science campus on the edge of the Stanford Research Park. The clear glass envelope with glass shading fins creates a crystalline form that evokes a sense of lightness and spirit. A mid-level blue horizontal ribbon shading element follows the shape of the classic R&D timeline; from creative spark, through trial and tribulation, to welcome success. To see project photos and details discussed, visit https://www.arcat.com/podcast (arcat.com/podcast) Allison Koo, Managing Director at Sand Hill Property Co., also shares her perspective as the client and building owner. Involved from land acquisition to occupancy and stabilization, Allision provides wide-ranging insight into an owner's decision making process. This project provided unique challenges and opportunities - A unique curved shading element and design feature required unconventional materials to build, the design balanced extensive use of glass with effective sun shading elements to help obtain LEED platinum certification, a creative and flexible design allowed the owner to effectively navigate volatility in the real estate market, and much more. If you enjoy this show, you can find similar content at https://gablmedia.com/ (Gābl Media).

The summer heat is in full swing, so let's revisit why systems like district energy could be a sustainable way to heat and cool communities—ultimately working towards a zero carbon footprint. Jeff Westeinde, President of Zibi Canada and Founding Partner of Windmill Development Group joined thinkenergy to talk about how Zibi, which aims to be Canada's most sustainable development project, embraces district energy and One Planet Living. Relive this episode as part of thinkenergy's Summer Recharge!    Related links LinkedIn, Jeff Westeinde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-westeinde-a46b4843/ LinkedIn, Windmill Development Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/windmill-development-group/?originalSubdomain=ca Zibi: https://zibi.ca/   --- To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Check out our cool pics on https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   More to Learn on https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the Tweets at https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod   Transcript   Dan Seguin  00:06 This is thinkenergy. The podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, and my co host Rebecca Schwartz, as we explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey everyone, welcome to the summer rewind edition of the thinkenergy podcast. While we recharge our batteries during these lazy hazy days of summer, we're bringing back some blasts from our podcast past. We'll be reintroducing some of our most popular interviews that garnered a lot of attention and interest. There's been a lot of talk about the future electrification of energy on the path to net zero. The episodes we've selected are very future focused with themes around Green Innovation, renewable energy, and our impact on the environment. So I hope you enjoy the summer rewind edition of today's episode. In the meantime, have a happy summer. And we'll be back on August 15. To kick off another exciting season. Cheers. I'm Dan Seguin from Hydro Ottawa, and I'll be hosting the thinkenergy podcast. So here's today's big question. Are you looking to better understand the fast changing world of energy? Join me every two weeks and get a unique perspective from industry leaders as we deep dive and discuss some of the coolest trends, emerging technologies and latest innovations that drive the energy sector. So stay tuned as we explore some traditional and some quirky facets of this industry. This is the thinkenergy podcast.  Hey, everyone, welcome back. This is the ThinkEnergy podcast. What happens when you use a network of hot and cold water pipes, bury them underground and then use them to efficiently heat and cool buildings - even whole communities, you get something called 'district energy'. And it's not a new concept. A quick search will reveal that its origins can be traced back to the second century BC to the invention of the hypocaust heating systems that powered the hot water bath of the ancient Roman Empire. Famously a hot water distribution system in Chaudes-Aigues, in France, is regarded as the first real district heating system. It used geothermal energy to provide heat for about 30 houses in the 14th century, and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis began steam district heating in 1853. If you're like me, maybe you're wondering why modern civilization did not continue to use this efficient and environmentally sustainable technology more. There are some European countries such as Denmark, where district energy is mandated, but for the most part, it is largely gone the way of ancient Rome and public bathing. The latter is not such a bad thing in my mind, with more and more socially conscious citizens around the globe, district energy is once again seeing a surge in popularity and becoming a preferred method, thanks to its lower and energy efficient operating costs, reduced supply disruptions, and environmentally sound methods of heating and cooling buildings, municipalities and property owners are intrigued by this ancient alternative energy technology. So, here's today's big question: Is the world ready to embrace district energy as a viable means to power our communities? Is the nation's capital ready to have the first one planet zero carbon community district energy system in the country? Well, my guest today is the founding partner of the Thea partnership. One of Canada's most sustainable real estate development companies, as well as the president of Zibi Canada, which aims to be Canada's most sustainable development project. He's also an active investor and entrepreneur in both environmental, clean tech and real estate sector with active investments in solar energy, site remediation, and the beneficial reuse of waste. Dear listeners, please welcome Jeff Westeinde. Jeff, can we start by you telling us a bit about your background, the Zibi project and what drives your passion to build sustainable communities?   Jeff Westeinde  05:24 Well, so I guess my background, I always say I'm an entrepreneur. I'm an engineer by training, but entrepreneur by practice. So I've, I've had one, what I call real job in my career, I worked for a company for a little over a year, it quickly became apparent that I was unemployable. So I had to start my own business. And I've always been in the environmental sector. So I started I started my career as an environmental contractor cleaning up industrial messes and some of the wastes of the past. And as part of that, I would watch our clients the way they were cleaning up properties, and then what they would do to redevelop them. And I was pursuing trying to, you know, clean up the environment, make the planet a better place. And yet, so the practices we were using, were actually making it worse. We're trucking contaminated soils. You know, the time I lived in BC, we're picking up soil, putting it in a dump truck and hauling it across the Rocky Mountains into a landfill in Alberta. And nobody can tell me that's good for the environment. So very good. quickly decided that we shouldn't say very quickly but decided while I continue to move up the food chain, and start to buy contaminated properties and start to develop places and communities. And because we were purchasing contaminated properties, the commitment that we had was, let's do better than we've done before. So let's push the envelope about how can we live in a sustainable way? How can we ensure that what we're building today doesn't cause the problems that we're cleaning up on the very site for developing so that's maybe a bit of a background as to you know, why how I got into this and in my passion around, you know, leaving, like, I don't know if you're ever in the wilderness, but there's a rule, leave the campsite better than you found it. And I think that rule, that should be a planet wide rule, and it's historically as you know, as not being so.   Dan Seguin  07:12 Okay, Jeff, you're on the record saying that the way we build communities does not support health, happiness or the environment. What do you mean by that? And how does Zibi differentiate?   Jeff Westeinde  07:28 So, I might even be so bold as to say that, I would argue that most of our planning, especially in North America, is actually shortening the lifespan of our own citizens. And that's because we're so car reliant. We're so socially isolated in the way that we build. So think about a typical suburb. In a typical suburb, if you want to get up and, you know, go get a coffee, buy some milk, bring your kids to school, the very first thing you do is go hop in your car and drive. And that that leads to, you know, the stats that can predict the rate of diabetes, the rate of obesity, the rate of all sorts of other chronic diseases by the postal code you live in, was shocking. So, this car centric suburban lifestyle is not good for you. So that's the health side of it. The happiness side of it, I'll just point to one stat. And that's that you can use, there are statistics that say you can determine the level of happiness of somebody by how many of their neighbors they know by first name. Well, when you live in the suburbs, you know, you might know 2, 3, 4 neighbors, or those people whose kids are your age, or those guys you play hockey with, but you don't have the unexpected collisions as you're walking to the coffee shop or as you're bringing your kids to school. So again, that urban sprawl arguably leads to a lot of source of social isolation. And if something happens to an older person, you fall, you break a leg, even as a young person and you're inside your house. Similarly, you're not looking out your window and seeing people and waving at them and those types of things. So how we build our communities, I think is really important for health, happiness and obviously for environmental sustainability. And what we're doing at Zibi is making sure that you will not be car centric, that you do have these collisions with your neighbors. As you're walking around the neighborhood. We actually have social programming that, you know, we have snowshoe nights and that when Cirque du Soleil comes, we have a night that is just for the residents of Zibi that come, you know those kinds of things to make sure you feel like a part of that community.   Dan Seguin  09:49 How did you discover the one planet system? What can you tell us about it and your goal to build the first one in Canada?   Jeff Westeinde  10:00 Well, so we'll talk about how we discovered it first, and that's good. Myself and my business partners were behind the very first LEED Platinum buildings in Canada. So we built the first LEED Platinum building in BC, Alberta, Ontario, and in the country as a whole and the LEED Platinum building we built in Alberta - I was visiting one day A couple years after we'd built it, and LEED Platinum is literally the Platinum standard, the most sustainable in the lead system. And I watched one of the residents of his LEED Platinum condominium building drive a Hummer SUV into the parking garage, and said, you know, it's great that our building is sustainable, but we really have an impact and how the users are using the building and how they're, how they're living their lives. So we started scouring the planet, literally to say, Well, is there a system that would really impact not only how we build our buildings and how they operate at a point in time, but how do we engage the people, the users that are using those places? So one planet, we get rated on things like health and happiness and social engagement, along with all the other architectural and engineering features of a community. And the way one planet works: very simple. The name says it all we have to live as if we only have one planet. Most people when I say that look at me and sort of go, but we only do have one planet. And we need to remind them that if you live like a typical Canadian, you're using four planets of resources to sustain your unsustainable lifestyle, and Americans using five planets, Europeans using three planets, and all we're doing is stealing from future generations, and the developing world to sustain our unsustainable lifestyles. So one planet really is all about both environmental sustainability, like technical sustainability and social sustainability, with one planet worth of resources, and it's a very holistic program. Very audacious goals, we're going to talk about zero carbon. So as you know, Zibi is in the nation's capital in Ottawa and Gatineau. You know, we are we are today we're going to be at plus 34 degrees. Six months from now we'll be at minus 34 degrees Celsius and to be zero carbon in this environment. It's the Holy Grail. So achieving one planet is not an easy thing to do very audacious. But that's where we said, No, that's the bar we need to hit, we need to again, leave our campsite better than we came to it.   Dan Seguin  12:35 I was fascinated that this method, 'district energy' dates back, like I think is 3000 or 4000 years to the time of the Roman Empire. What are some of the key benefits of the energy system you're implementing in your community? And why has it taken this long for folks to embrace it with it's being around for so long?   Jeff Westeinde  13:01 Well, like most technological breakthroughs, it is not the technology itself or even the concept itself that gets in the way, its people. So regulators, you know, if you look at how our grid works, say in Ontario, you cannot run a district electrical system. I can't, I couldn't produce energy and give it to my neighbor. Because we have a regulatory body that says you can't do it. And there are good reasons for that it was around safety and security and all those types of things. But we've ended up with all of these barriers, that that would prohibit the transportation and sale of energy. And, you know, I talked about electricity. But what's very interesting at Zibi - our district energy system is just hot and cold water. And there are no regulations currently in Ontario and Quebec, around moving hot and cold water. So that allowed us to start a district energy system. Answer so yeah. Again, the reason I would say you don't see more of them is the regulatory hurdles to implement the district energy system are enormous. However, the benefits are huge. And I'll use a very, you know, high level example that if you were to have a, you know, a Shopify data center, a good Canadian company, unlike Amazon, as a for instance. That is in constant cooling. So it's rejecting heating all the time. Right? And beside it, you have the Nordic spa, another great company that always needs heating, but needs to therefore be rejecting cooling. When you put those two side by side, and they're swapping energy back and forth. So your load is so much less. That's the concept of District energy is that by sharing and you know, a commercial building has different loads than a residential building has different loads than a retail building. By sharing those loads, they have different peaks, either for peak shades, you'd be you have less capital expenditure and you're more efficient. Why is it taking so long? It drives me crazy, but I really do think it's regulation is the key item why.   Dan Seguin  15:13 Aside from regulation, what have been the challenges you encountered bringing this technology to market in Canada? The sight of your one planet community alone, straddling Ontario and Quebec, is really unique. Tell us about the challenges and how your passion has gotten you through.   Jeff Westeinde  15:34 Yeah, I'm not sure how long this podcast is, but I could talk for a week about the challenges. Yeah, as you talked about, we do span the provincial border between Ontario and Quebec. You know, we jokingly say, both sides have a different word for everything. Because one speaks French one speaks English. Even the rule of law is different to one side of the other the legal system. So, you know, we need to repeat everything twice when we do this, but what I'll tell you is, I would say that the way that we've overcome what are just an enormous amount of challenges, I won't even get into what they all are, but it was it was crazy. Boy, when we overcome it was we shared our vision. And actually, I would say was our community's vision of saying, this is where our region started. Arguably, this is where, you know, the roots of our country started was on this site. And when we when we purchased the property was a fenced off locked off contaminated former industrial site that nobody had seen unless you worked at domtar. For probably 100 years, people didn't realize there's a waterfall in the middle of the city. What the community talked about in the vision that we had was no, we need to do something truly world class like something that people would come to our region and say Quebecers Ontarians, Canadians, look at the communities and the places that they create. And with that vision of being world class, we were fortunate that that politicians in the region, federal, municipal and provincial, all endorsed out the community endorse it. So when we started to bump up against bureaucracy and regulations, we were able to remind everybody that our commitment or contract to all of our stakeholders was, we're going to do some world class. Now world class, meaning different, and bureaucracies and regulations exist to enforce the same. So we were able to say, listen, you've got to empower, talk to the politicians, you've got to empower the bureaucrats who are paid to make sure that everybody does everything the same, to say, No, we've got to look at this one differently. We're not looking to do anything unsafe or unreasonable. But there's a better way and we've got to find it. And it was really that vision of world class and the endorsement that we got from all of the public stakeholders who said, yeah, we want to be world class. We don't want to just build another suburb of the City of Ottawa or Gatineau.   Dan Seguin  18:08 Now through a marketing lens, how did you position this alternative energy system that provides heating and cooling to your communities' new housing projects? What was the value proposition for prospective buyers and investors.   Jeff Westeinde  18:25 I think the key one, one of the lessons we've learned about sustainability and building sustainable buildings and building sustainable communities, is, most consumers don't, you know, while it's a nice to have being sustainable, it's not something that they're making a purchasing decision around. That's changing. I think more and more people are starting to look at that, but historically hasn't been important. So the key to sustainability is, we need to, we're going to allow you to be much more environmentally sustainable, socially sustainable, without any impact to your lifestyle. So when it comes to district heating and cooling, we said, listen, we're going to deliver you zero carbon district heating and cooling at the same market cost as a carbon based system, and you won't know. If you know you're going to turn your heat on, it's going to get hot, you're going to turn up your cooling on it's going to get cool, and you're not going to pay any more of the market. So that was that batten marketing. I mean, that's a no brainer to everybody that Okay, hold on, I get the exact same as I would get in a carbon based system but I'm zero carbon or more sustainable. That's a pretty easy sell at that point.   Dan Seguin  19:33 Okay, now I'd like to explore design aspects. District energy equipment inside a building occupies about one fifth of the area of conventional systems that boilers and chillers take up. I'm assuming this provides more flexibility in designing your buildings and community. By eliminating traditional HVAC systems, what building design options did this enable you to expand on?   Jeff Westeinde  20:06 There's some easy ones like if you think about rooftop patios, as a for instance, you know, if you have a rooftop patio beside a big chiller that's making a bunch of noise is not a great rooftop. So by  being able to eliminate that equipment. You know, our rooftop patios are much nicer. But really as a place maker, as a developer, the key aspect for us was if you know if you take all of that mechanical and electrical distribution space, and you end up with instead real estate that you can use, it's another added benefit to saying that that district energy makes financial sense or can make financial sense. It wasn't easy to unlock that but can make financial sense. So, so yeah, it obviously the less constraints you have on a building, the more flexibility you have and district is one tool for that for sure.   Dan Seguin  21:06 Now, wondering if you could zero in on the energy distribution system that harnesses excess heat from the Kruger paper mill on the Ottawa River and the temporary thermal plant that was or is built to serve residents businesses in your community.   Jeff Westeinde  21:24 Sure, yeah. So are, you know, like talking about the benefits, or sorry, the rationale behind district that if you have different energy cycles between neighboring buildings, you can share that energy. Our district energy system is actually based on that very same principle that Kruger operates a tissue mill, directly across from Parliament Hill. They, it's a very efficient, very successful mill. But as part of that process, they bring in millions of litres of water a day, heated up to over 40 degrees Celsius. Use it several times in their papermaking process, but then discharge it into the Ottawa River at about 30 degrees Celsius, anywhere from 25 to 30. So what we're doing is saying listen, you're discharging the millions of liters of hot water into the Ottawa River. Why don't we strip that heat so then what we're doing is we're taking it from 25 to 30 degrees down to seven to 10 degrees and discharging out into the Ottawa. River in our heating system or in the heating season. So that's the concept behind it's very rudimentary engineering, it's strictly heat transfer between water. So, so pretty straightforward from that point of view. What the temporary plane that you speak about is our district energy system. That backbone heating system at Kruger is not yet built that's getting built this season. However, we have users in our buildings right now. So, we have temporary plants that are providing that but the infrastructure for the district the pipes in the streets and hot and cold water system is there. So those temporary plants are going to operate for about another year, after which will be on our permanent system.   Dan Seguin  23:06 In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy resilience. Is it fair to say that district energy deliver economies of scale in areas with high population? What are some of the short and long term benefits for the owner and end user alike? And how do these factor into the government carbon reduction targets?   Jeff Westeinde  23:33 Well, yeah, so the short term is if you can be more efficient, so if you have dense populations with different energy cycles, so different peaks and whatnot, as we talked about earlier, you need to spend less capital because you're peaking is at a lower level. And you're sharing energy between so that your overall initial energy utilization from the grid or from the gas system is lower because you're sharing more so overall that drives efficiency. And at the end of the day efficiency then drives lower greenhouse gas emissions and ideally, lower and more stable costs because your energy inputs are a lower percentage of the overall district. So say in our case, you if we're harnessing heat from Kruger, there are no escalation in the cost of that heat. It is waste industrial heat that otherwise wouldn't go anywhere. Whereas if we're connected to the Ontario grid, as you know, you know, costs have escalated very significantly. So that energy input if that is our key input, our energy costs are going to be higher. So we're fortunate that again, the combination of we sit in Ontario and in Quebec, so we have two different electrical and two different gas grids. We have waste heat and our cooling is going to come largely from the Ottawa River. So we have low cost inputs with waste heat and Ottawa River cooling. And we have four different grids we can tap into for alternative and for other energy if need be. So that then allows us to control our costs. So again, just an example of how you can drive efficiency and provide more price stability, while at the same time reducing emissions.   Dan Seguin  25:22 Okay. Do alternative energy sources like district energy reduce exposure to fluctuating energy prices? How are the rates/cost determined for residents? Are they comparable to current rates? And are they stable?   Jeff Westeinde  25:41 Yeah, so, yes, not all district energy systems are the same. Obviously, it depends on what those inputs are. But in the case of the Zibi community utility, our district energy system, but then our key inputs are that waste industrial heat and cooling base from the Ottawa River, both of which obviously have are stable. There's there is no Yeah, well, I shouldn't say we have some commercial transactions that go on without but not like the grid that allows us to decrease our reliance on the grid for other inputs. So to answer the question on rates, yes, our rates are comparable to market. And we've actually indexed them to the price of Quebec hydroelectricity. And for anyone that understands electrical grids, I would suggest that in North America, Quebec is likely the most stable grid in all of North America. I would say that it is a national utility for the province of Quebec. And I would say, you know, all Canadians are very proud of our healthcare and if they ever tried to take it away, there'd be riots in the streets. I would suggest that if anybody tried to raise electrical rates in Quebec, similar to what's happened Ontario, there would be even bigger riots in the streets. So, you know, we are expecting that will allow us to provide really stable pricing over the long term to our, to our customers.   Dan Seguin  27:09 Now, how important was it to find a strategic partner like hydro Ottawa, that had more than 100 years of experience and a strong track record to create safe and reliable utility infrastructure?   Jeff Westeinde  27:24 The partnership with Hydro Ottawa was critical. And again, consumer acceptance of that of the district energy system. You know, if you think about reliability if you're a consumer at Zibi, and you said, Okay, well what happens if my heating or cooling goes off? Who do I call if I see, well, you know, I am Jeff and here's my cell phone, you know, call me up at the cottage and I'll see if I can help you. That's not exactly reassuring. When you say 'Well, you call Hydro Ottawa" and they will is not who I would normally, you know, they, they're, they're, you know, the relative reliability stats of Hydro Ottawa better than me, but it's 99.999 something percent uptime, you know, 24 hour response, etc., etc. So, being able to bring that credibility of a utility operator to our district was absolutely critical for overall consumer acceptance and I would even say regulatory acceptance. You know, when we started talking about listen we're going to be moving hot and cold water in the you know energy in the form of hot and cold water around the around our community all municipal officials provincially "Okay, let you know if they did you have experience with this?" when we say well, Hydro Ottawa is our partner, it is an automatic acceptance of all know, okay, you guys are credible we understand let's carry on. So having Hydro Ottawa as a partner has been truly exceptional for us to be able to pioneer this.   Dan Seguin  28:50 Jeff, in addition to district energy, what else is he planning to feature in terms of other advanced technology and innovation to achieve zero carbon living for the residents and tenants on site?   Jeff Westeinde  29:08 Yeah, again, I know your podcast is not that long so I could talk forever about this, but I'll give you some key examples. So you know, again, trying to decrease reliance on carbon based transportation systems. So you know, the personal vehicle. You know, having car sharing, having excellent access to transit, when you're looking at other things that have a carbon footprint, how we build our buildings, the components that go into our buildings, the materials that go into our buildings, some are very carbon intensive. So again, we're targeting those that aren't carbon intensive. Even things like if you look at logistics, you know, when you buy a head of lettuce at the at the grocery store, the carbon it took to get that lettuce to the grocery store is embedded in that very product. So having urban agriculture, you'll see urban gardens, we've got a couple on site now. So all sorts of areas where anywhere where we can target things that are that use carbon to get delivered to or to, as part of the system that we're in. We're looking at incrementally changing all of those things. And those increments when they add up, turn into some big numbers. So that's really our focus.   Dan Seguin  30:27 Jeff, how about we close off with some rapid fire questions? Are you ready to go? What is your favorite word?   Jeff Westeinde  30:36 Serendipity. Yeah, I love serendipity. Because good things happen when you're not paying attention.   Dan Seguin  30:42 What is one thing you can't live without?   Jeff Westeinde  30:46 That was an easy one, my wife, I could be dead without that!   Dan Seguin  30:52 What is something that challenges you?   Jeff Westeinde  30:54 The word "No." I'm not good at taking the word 'No', it's how Zibi exists.   Dan Seguin  31:00 If you could have one superpower, what would it be?   Jeff Westeinde  31:03 I'd love to be a shapeshifter, be able to get inside different systems, different beings and understand how and why they work. I have endless curiosity. So I think being a shapeshifter would be amazing.   Dan Seguin  31:15 If you had to turn back time and talk to your 18 year old self, what would you tell them?   Jeff Westeinde  31:21 First, I would say smarten up and stop doing dumb things. But no, I think the one thing I would say is listen, relax. You know, something that has come to ring true with me, the Roman philosopher Seneca said, you know, "luck happens when opportunity meets preparedness". And I've been very fortunate to be lucky. But there's only one thing I can control in there. I can't control luck, I can't control opportunity. All I can do is control preparedness. So get prepared and just relax, pay attention, good things will happen.   Dan Seguin  31:52 And lastly, what do you currently find most interesting in your sector?   Jeff Westeinde  31:57 I love the fact that public health - so right now, you know, as you know, we're in the middle of a covid pandemic - public health is leading that across our country. But here in Ottawa, it's Vera Etches, I love the fact that our public health officials are starting to be included in our urban planning policies. So in Ottawa, Vera Etches participated in that. So remember I said earlier, you know, the way we plan is shortening the lifespan of our citizens. Public health starting to get involved in that. I'm really hoping that there will be an influence where they'll say, "if we planned communities this way, then here are the health benefits of it. If we do it that way, here's the health benefits." That's not currently happening. So I find that really exciting.   So, you know, we've been talking mostly about the Zibi project, which is one of the many things I do you know, if you go to Zibi.ca, then you can find more about Zibi and if you look to hello@zibi.ca anybody that wants to connect they're very good at getting people to me. I'm not much of a social media person, I do have a LinkedIn profile. I don't use it very often. But you can find me on LinkedIn and I'm good at responding to messages there as well.   Dan Seguin  32:41 Well, Jeff, we've reached the end of another episode of The ThinkEnergy podcast, last question for you. How can our listeners learn more about you and Zibi? How can they better connect?  Again, thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you had a lot of fun.   Jeff Westeinde  33:35 Well, this was fun, Dan, and thank you for your interest in Zibi and One Planet. That's fantastic.   Dan Seguin  33:42 Thank you for joining us today. I truly hope you enjoyed this episode of The thinkenergy podcast. For past episodes, make sure you visit our website HydroOttawa.com/podcast. Lastly, if you found value in this podcast, be sure to subscribe. Cheers, everyone.

In this episode, Mark checks in with past CEO/President of American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Randy Fiser about the profound impact interior design has on humanity and the world. From launching the groundbreaking campaign DESIGN IMPACTS LIVES to spearheading the world's first WELL and LEED Platinum headquarters in Washington, D.C., Randy remains at the forefront of making the world a better place. As current Executive Director/CEO at American Geophysical Union, this rare interview with a true global visionary is essential listening for corporate leaders, design professionals and anyone interested in implementing real world solutions into everyday life. Welcome to Scandalabra. Hosted by Mark Brunetz, best known as the Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on the Style Network, Scandalabra is the first podcast to critically examine the world of interior design. Curious, skeptical and equally hospitable, Mark pulls back the curtain on his high-profile design career to talk about America's obsession with home decor and the price we unwittingly pay for it. Featuring fellow designers and industry leaders, each episode highlights the ways the design industry intersects with consumers through media, products, and experts, revealing the often-unknown truth behind beautiful spaces. Support the podcast: https://anchor.fm/scandalabra Where to find us: https://www.instagram.com/scandalabrapodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/markbrunetz/?hl=en https://markbrunetz.com/podcast Where to find Randy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyfiser/ https://www.agu.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scandalabra/support

Daniel Overbey, Browning Day's director of sustainability, speaks with us about the largest privately developed LEED Platinum project in Indiana came to be. Listen as he discusses some of the challenges of this project, especially trying to achieve those high standards.

Saskia van Gendt is an environmental scientist and the first Head of Sustainability at Rothy's, the San Francisco-based, direct-to-consumer fashion company. Rothy's items are made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles and post-consumer recycled materials. Saskia oversees their initiatives to use more reusable materials, design products that eliminate waste, and advance their goal of making the brand - and fashion industry at large - ever more circular to better serve our planet and future. Saskia van Gendt: Saskia is an environmental scientist with over a decade of experience in sustainable manufacturing and design, Saskia is the Head of Sustainability at Rothy's, a San Francisco-based company transforming environmentally-friendly materials into timeless essentials for everyday wear. At Rothy's, Saskia develops strategies to minimize the environmental impact that Rothy's supply chain has on the environment, advancing Rothy's sustainable innovations in materials, production, fulfillment, and more. Prior to joining Rothy's, Saskia worked as the Senior Director of Sustainability at method, a brand renowned for their sustainable, clean, and effective cleaning products. At method, Saskia implemented sustainability initiatives on the ground for the European business and at method's LEED-Platinum soap factory in Chicago.   Resources: Learn more about Rothy's at https://rothys.com/ Connect with Saskia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svangendt/ Visit leadwithwe.com to learn more about Simon's new book or search for "Lead With We" on Amazon, Google Books, or Barnes & Noble.

In this issue of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Peter Rumsey, founder and CEO of Point Energy Innovations, a consulting firm specializing in ultra-efficient buildings and decarbonization. They discuss his extensive career in technological innovation, and all the contributions he has made in the design of low energy and zero energy buildings internationally. He pioneered such key building innovations as chilled beams, radiant cooling, data center economizers, zero energy buildings and affordable LEED Platinum buildings. Peter has transformed the building industry by creating examples of the world's most innovative and most sustainable buildings. 

A marvel of modern engineering, Dubai's Museum of the Future is also a donut. Listen in as Aaron and Matt discuss steel diagrids, LEED Platinum designations, and the definition of "honesty" in design. Register to vote during the future live recordings. 

Our guest this episode is Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic talking about sustainability, WELL building certification and much more. If you enjoy this episode, share it with friends and give us a review, it helps more than you know. In this episode, we discuss: Sustainability as social work WELL Building Certification program Certification fatigue Sustainability as an equity metric And much more……. For more information on Jennifer Jennifer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferberthelotjelovic/ Jennifer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASustainAblePro ASAP website: https://sustainpro.org/ Bio Jennifer has extensive experience with IWBI’s WELL Building Standard as one of the first Provisional WELL APs, WELL APs, and WELL Faculty in the world. Jennifer has worked on various WELL pilot projects in almost every typology. Jennifer is currently overseeing many firsts in WELL, LEED, Net Zero|Carbon Neutral|Net Positive projects in the country and world. Jen also has extensive experience with USGBC's various LEED rating systems. In her previous roles at Shangri-La; Jennifer was instrumental in securing the world's 1st LEED Platinum NC certification for an aviation facility, Hangar 25 in Burbank, CA. Hangar 25 was named “Greenest Aviation Facility In the World” and was Net Zero|Net Positive in 2008. Jennifer also orchestrated the LEED Platinum certification of Citadel Environmental Services under LEED CI. This was the 1st LEED Platinum CI office space in the Tri-City (Glendale/Pasadena/Burbank) area and Net Zero Energy in 2010. One of Jennifer's most renowned projects is Step Up On Vine, an adaptive reuse Platinum certified LEED Homes Multi-family, permanent supportive housing project for chronically homeless, mentally ill individuals in Hollywood, CA. Jennifer has provided tours of hundreds of LEED|WELL registered|certified projects nationally for international and domestic Owners, Developers, Design|Build teams, Consultants, Innovators, Fortune 500 Companies, and more. Jennifer has also provided hundreds of Sustainability|Wellness presentations globally for hundreds of organizations. Jen has been interviewed|published in articles and publications over the past 15 years. Jen is also a content contributor, reviewer and on-screen SME for the WELL Learning Library (WLL); a comprehensive solution for WELL v2 education and survey requirements. Jen has been a 1st thru final round Greenbuild education program Reviewer multiple times, a Global Health & Wellness Summit Advisory Board Member and LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee member since receiving the designation. Edifice Complex Podcast & Sponsors Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGEo1pCt2k8NzvBNJ_78lA BlueRithm: https://bluerithm.com/ DCM: https://learn.drawingspecialists.com/adam sensorsuite: http://suiteheat.sensorsuite.com/

Podcast: The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti (LS 34 · TOP 3% what is this?)Episode: HEAPY Michael Berning and MEP Emerging TrendsPub date: 2020-09-23Michael is responsible for the development of new markets and services and to provide corporate leadership for (the wholly owned subsidiary the Design/Build construction services company HEAPY.). In this role, his team develops the “what's next” to enhance client service experience and produce colleague advancement opportunities. To emphasize a keen focus on the HEAPY Vision of “Building a more Resilient and Sustainable Society”, new markets and services are centered on Smart Technologies Integration, Distributed Energy Resources, Resiliency Planning, Energy as a Service (EaaS), etc. Michael has presented at several National and Regional Conferences including: Greenbuild, AIA National Convention, International Living Futures UnConference, National Conference on Building Commissioning, the World Energy Engineering Conference, Greening the Heartland and the US Institute for Theater Technology Conference. He is on the Industrial Advisory Committee for the University of Dayton Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and served as a Fellow for the Hobart Center for Food Service Sustainability. He was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the former EDC Magazine, writing a column focused on Sustainability. He leads sustainability on the local level as Co-Chair of the Dayton (Ohio) Regional Green Initiative (DRG3.org) and is a past Regional Chair for the U.S Green Building Council's College and University based USGBC Students Program. He recently served as Chair of USGBC Ohio. HEAPY is a nationally recognized MEP&T Systems Design, Sustainability, and Planning & Commissioning Services firm. Heapy has an outstanding record of providing practical sustainable-based smart solutions for today's high performance buildings. The HEAPY HQ achieved LEED PLATINUM. Michael's experience with projects in both the public and private sectors shows, when properly planned and executed throughout the entire design and construction process, every project can be Resilient, Environmentally Responsible, Energy Efficient AND Cost Effective.   Show Highlights    Building holistically by looking at the entire client's portfolio to create a plan that blends standards  Position your green building projects and jobs to be recession proof  Michael's unique building systems as an innovation officer on solar and smart grids Concepts that look at how you make the best use of renewables and what's next in buildings Stick to your convictions when determining the path for your career Outside of the box thinking that impacts long term needs and deferred maintenance for green building   “This market is still ginormous. This is the opportunity to help move the world, your community, and your family forward by being green and by living green. Helping others to do that too will give you a rewarding and impactful life. That's what we're all looking for. How can I be of impact? Being in the sustainability movement certainly is. It is questions answered.” -Michael Berning     Michael Berning's Show Resource and Information     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2020 GBESThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Charlie Cichetti, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

The 2021 National ACEC Engineering Excellence Grand Conceptor Award – which honors the year's most outstanding engineering achievement in the U.S. – was presented to IMEG Corp. for its design of the Denver Water Operations Complex Redevelopment. This episode examines the project's extensive water and energy efficiency goals and challenges from the perspective of Ken Urbanek, who led the IMEG team on the $205M redevelopment featuring a 186,000-sf LEED Platinum, net-zero energy and “One Water” administration building. “This project is a testament to what we in the AEC industry can do,” says Urbanek. “It demonstrates that given the right drive from ownership, we can achieve carbon-free emissions, net zero energy, and even significant reductions in water use. Engineers, contractors, and architects – we can all deliver on this.”

We've all probably heard about LEED Certified buildings, but mostly related to commercial buildings. Your home can also be LEED Certified. But most of us have some common misconceptions of so-called "green" homes - that they're wildly expensive, that the process takes years of planning, that they're out of reach for most of us. Our guest today, Aaron Stash, and his family, built a LEED Platinum home in the suburbs of Chicago - a home that continues to inspire his family to lead a more sustainable life. Tune in to see how this process might inspire you as well.