USGBC awards individuals, firms for leading the way in sustainable construction

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the recipients of the 2014 Leadership Awards, which celebrate the individuals and groups at the forefront of sustainability in the built environment.

“As the green building movement continues to grow throughout the world, it is even more important to recognize the leaders who set the bar for others and who are always pushing the envelope toward a sustainable future,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “We are proud to recognize our Leadership Award recipients for their commitment to our mission and to their contributions to advancing our industry.”

This year’s 2014 USGBC Leadership Award recipients include:

Christine Ervin, president and CEO of Christine Ervin Company, is being recognized for her outstanding work advocating for the growth of LEED and the green building movement. Ervin served as the first president and CEO of USGBC and has been an incredibly influential voice in the green building community.

David Orr, Paul Sears distinguished professor of environmental studies and politics and senior advisor to the president at Oberlin College and a James Marsh professor at the University of Vermont, is an established author and well-known environmentalist, active in many areas of environmental studies. He serves as the executive director of the Oberlin Project, a joint effort of the City of Oberlin, Oberlin College and private and institutional partners to improve the resilience, prosperity and sustainability of the community. Orr also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC.

The Honorable Jim DeCesare, Kentucky State Representative, serves District 21 in the Kentucky House of Representatives and is currently serving as the co-chair of the Kentucky Green Schools Caucus. DeCesare has been a champion for green schools in Kentucky, leading a bipartisan effort to unanimously adopt resolutions in support of green schools. His efforts helped Kentucky become the home of the nation’s first net-zero school.

Lloyd Alter, managing editor of TreeHugger.com, is an architect, developer and inventor. He is well known within the sustainability community as a prolific writer and editor and serves as a vocal champion on the importance of sustainability in the built environment. Alter is also an adjunct professor at Ryerson University School of Interior Design.

Tom Paladino, founder and CEO of Paladino and Company, is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and an ardent advocate of proving the business case for green building. He has played a significant role in the development of LEED since its inception, with his firm most recently serving as technical editors of the LEED v4 reference guides. Paladino has served as the vice chair of the USGBC Board and co-chair of the LEED Steering Committee. As a former chair of the Seattle AIA Committee on the Environment, Paladino helped found the City of Seattle Sustainable Building Task Force, a regional initiative that ultimately led to the adoption of LEED by the City of Seattle, the first city in the country to do so.

The Near Westside Initiative, Inc. (NWSI) is this year’s recipient of the Mayor Richard M. Daley Legacy Award for Global Leadership in Creating Sustainable Cities. NWSI is a not-for-profit organization started by Syracuse University and The Gifford Foundation. Syracuse University’s School of Architecture and Center of Excellence also play pivotal roles in the project. NWSI has established the Syracuse Art, Literacy, Technology (SALT) District of the Near Westside as a creative community to foster economic development, jobs and stability for the neighborhood and rich academic experiences for the students.

Mars, Inc. is the recipient of the Ray Anderson Radical Industrialism Award. Mars’ Sustainability in a Generation (SiG) program is a comprehensive undertaking designed to minimize the impacts of its operations on the environment. The company’s highly ambitious goal is to pursue absolute reductions in energy usage across their system using the best available scientific data. A strong supporter of LEED, the SiG program has heavily influenced how it builds, designs and manages its operations, making it an ideal recipient of this award sponsored by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation in memory of the legendary leader of Interface, Inc.

USGBC’s 2014 Leadership Awards will be presented at the Leadership Awards Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced plans to use $975 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades to federal buildings across the country. The investment will impact about 40 million sf, or about 20% of GSA’s federal buildings portfolio.

Codes and Standards | Aug 7, 2023

Cambridge, Mass., requires net-zero emissions for some large buildings by 2035

The City of Cambridge, Mass., recently mandated that all non-residential buildings—including existing structures—larger than 100,000 sf meet a net-zero emissions requirement by 2035.

Resiliency | Jul 27, 2023

'Underground climate change' can damage building foundations, civil infrastructure

A phenomenon known as “underground climate change” can lead to damage of building foundations and civil infrastructure, according to a researcher at Northwestern University. When the ground gets hotter, it can expand and contract, causing foundations to move and sometimes crack.

people couple using electric scooter in city park - Millenial students riding new modern ecological mean of transport

Urban Planning | Jul 26, 2023

America’s first 100% electric city shows the potential of government-industry alignment

Ithaca has turned heads with the start of its latest venture: Fully decarbonize and electrify the city by 2030.

Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay

Contractors | Jun 30, 2023

Construction industry task force aims for standardized carbon reporting

A newly formed Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) task force on decarbonization and carbon reporting will address the challenges around reporting and reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry.

The Green Proving Ground program will evaluate an energy storage technology from Yotta Energy that is the size of a large laptop and installed in place of ballast beneath a rooftop photovoltaic system.

Green | Jun 26, 2023

Federal government will spend $30 million on novel green building technologies

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest $30 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the sustainability of federal buildings by testing novel technologies. The vehicle for that effort, the Green Proving Ground (GPG) program, will invest in American-made technologies to help increase federal electric vehicle supply equipment, protect air quality, reduce climate pollution, and enhance building performance.

Industrial Facilities | Jun 20, 2023

A new study presses for measuring embodied carbon in industrial buildings

The embodied carbon (EC) intensity in core and shell industrial buildings in the U.S. averages 23.0 kilograms per sf, according to a recent analysis of 26 whole building life-cycle assessments. That means a 300,000-sf warehouse would emit 6,890 megatons of carbon over its lifespan, or the equivalent of the carbon emitted by 1,530 gas-powered cars driven for one year. Those sobering estimates come from a new benchmark study, “Embodied Carbon U.S. Industrial Real Estate.”

Resiliency | Jun 14, 2023

HUD offers $4.8 billion in funding for green and resilient building retrofit projects

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released guidelines for its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) that has $4.8 billion for funding green projects.

Headquarters | May 9, 2023

New Wells Fargo development in Texas will be bank’s first net-positive campus

A new Wells Fargo development in the Dallas metroplex will be the national bank’s first net-positive campus, expected to generate more energy than it uses. The 850,000-sf project on 22 acres will generate power from solar panels and provide electric vehicle charging stations.

USGBC and IWBI unveil streamlined certification pathway for LEED and WELL. Photo by Scott Webb

Green | Apr 18, 2023

USGBC and IWBI unveil streamlined certification pathway for LEED and WELL green building programs

The U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc., and the International WELL Building Institute released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The new protocol simplifies documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other.

Currently Reading

USGBC awards individuals, firms for leading the way in sustainable construction

Tags

Government Buildings | Aug 7, 2023

Codes and Standards | Aug 7, 2023

Resiliency | Jul 27, 2023

Urban Planning | Jul 26, 2023

Contractors | Jun 30, 2023

Green | Jun 26, 2023

Industrial Facilities | Jun 20, 2023

Resiliency | Jun 14, 2023

Headquarters | May 9, 2023

Green | Apr 18, 2023

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: