Washington, D.C. (July 6, 2016) – U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC) CEO and founding Chairman Rick Fedrizzi is joining the International WELL Building Institute as CEO and Chairman of its Board of Directors. Fedrizzi will assume the position of Chairman immediately and assume the CEO role November 4, 2016, when he will add his executive leadership to the IWBI team full-time after he steps back from USGBC.
IWBI administers the WELL Building Standard (WELL), an evidence-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring the performance of building features that impact health and well-being.
“As we continue to grow and expand the adoption of both the WELL Building Standard and the WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP) program globally, we enthusiastically welcome Rick Fedrizzi into this leadership role to help lead IWBI to new heights,” said IWBI Founder Paul Scialla. “I can’t think of a person better suited to lead this process than Rick. His management experience and global vision will be huge assets to IWBI, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him.”
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to take on a leadership role with IWBI and build upon the work we’ve been doing at USGBC,” said Fedrizzi, who announced last summer his plans to leave the USGBC, which he co-founded in 1993. “Our buildings and communities should help humans thrive. Sustainability plus health is a powerful lens through which to view the world, and WELL has approached this goal in a similar way to how we developed the LEED green building program.
“Leveraging the strengths of both USGBC and IWBI will advance a much needed change in the improvement of the wellness and quality of life of our families, friends and colleagues through a healthier, more sustainable built environment,” added Fedrizzi.
The WELL Building Standard V1 was introduced in October 2014. To date, WELL has registered and certified over 200 projects, totaling more than 45 million square feet across 21 countries.
Fedrizzi co-founded USGBC while he was environmental marketing director at United Technologies Corporation. He has served as USGBC’s CEO since 2004, and during the past decade, has led USGBC’s efforts to establish green building as a global mainstream movement. During his 12 years as CEO, he has championed the idea of improving the world’s building stock in ways that improve the health, safety and well-being of the people who occupy them, and has been a force for driving collaboration across the built environment continuum.
Fedrizzi serves on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, whose mission is focused on the design and development of leading-edge research on how to improve human health and well-being through the built environment, as well as Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council, Clinton Global Initiative’s Scaling Sustainable Buildings Action Network, Delos’ Advisory Board, Watsco, Energy Focus, VIEW, and Global Green. In 2015, he authored Greenthink: How Profit Can Save the Planet, which recently received the IPPY Gold Medal in the Public Affairs Category.
Fedrizzi holds a BA from Le Moyne College and an MBA from Syracuse University, where he recently received the Arents Award. A native of Syracuse, he spent more than 25 years at United Technologies Corporation, culminating in his role as in-house environmental marketing consultant. In 2001 Rick founded Green-Think, an environmentally focused marketing and communications consulting firm. He transitioned from the role of volunteer founding chair of USGBC during this time to becoming its full-time CEO in 2004.
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and well-being through the built environment. IWBI administers the WELL Building Standard (WELL) – a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of buildings that impact the health and well-being of the people who live, work, and learn in them. Fulfilling the vision of IWBI Founder Paul Scialla, IWBI has a pioneering altruistic capitalism model that will address social responsibility and demonstrate a sustainable model for philanthropy. IWBI has committed to direct 51% of net profits, after taxes, generated by registration fees, certification fees, and recertification fees received from real estate projects applying for WELL Certification toward charitable contributions and impact investment focused on health, wellness, and the built environment. IWBI was established by Delos in 2013 pursuant to a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to improve the way people live by developing spaces that enhance occupant health and quality of life by sharing the WELL Building Standard globally. www.wellcertified.com
Related Stories
| Nov 2, 2010
A Look Back at the Navy’s First LEED Gold
Building Design+Construction takes a retrospective tour of a pace-setting LEED project.
| Nov 2, 2010
Yudelson: ‘If It Doesn’t Perform, It Can’t Be Green’
Jerry Yudelson, prolific author and veteran green building expert, challenges Building Teams to think big when it comes to controlling energy use and reducing carbon emissions in buildings.
| Nov 1, 2010
Sustainable, mixed-income housing to revitalize community
The $41 million Arlington Grove mixed-use development in St. Louis is viewed as a major step in revitalizing the community. Developed by McCormack Baron Salazar with KAI Design & Build (architect, MEP, GC), the project will add 112 new and renovated mixed-income rental units (market rate, low-income, and public housing) totaling 162,000 sf, plus 5,000 sf of commercial/retail space.
| Nov 1, 2010
Vancouver’s former Olympic Village shoots for Gold
The first tenants of the Millennium Water development in Vancouver, B.C., were Olympic athletes competing in the 2010 Winter Games. Now the former Olympic Village, located on a 17-acre brownfield site, is being transformed into a residential neighborhood targeting LEED ND Gold. The buildings are expected to consume 30-70% less energy than comparable structures.
| Oct 21, 2010
GSA confirms new LEED Gold requirement
The General Services Administration has increased its sustainability requirements and now mandates LEED Gold for its projects.
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 12, 2010
University of Toledo, Memorial Field House
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.
