Noted green building consultant, green building book author, and sustainability planning expert, Jerry Yudelson addressed a large gathering of public officials and LEED Spanish green building experts on June 4, 2012 in Bilbao, Spain, giving the keynote speech at the celebration of Spain’s first public-sector LEED Platinum green building.
In addition to Yudelson, speaking at the half-day event were Sr. Ibon Areso, head of the Bilbao City Council; Sr. Aurelio Ramírez, CEO of the Spain Green Building Council; former US Green Building Council Vice-Chair Zaida Basora from the City of Dallas, Texas; and Lynn Perkins, AIA, representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington.
Yudelson’s keynote speech was titled “The Business Case for the Rapid Adoption of Green Building in Spain.” He said, “The key issue now in the green building industry is how such projects perform, using actual operating data, not design projections. For the past two years, I have researched this issue internationally, and in this conference, I shared some of the results of my global research with the Spanish building industry and local government hosts.”
The green building consultant continued, “If we are serious about cutting our carbon emissions, we have to deal with the rapid greening of public and commercial buildings, which globally account for nearly 20 percent of all emissions of greenhouse gases. In this presentation, I challenged the building industry—and those involved in green building and sustainable design in particular—to get serious about adopting high-performance buildings as the New Normal.”
A professional engineer and experienced sustainability consultant, Yudelson has been involved with promoting the LEED green building rating system for 15 years and is the author of twelve (12) books on the subject of green buildings, green homes, green marketing, water conservation and sustainable development. In 2011, the US Green Building Council named him to the first class of LEED Fellows. +
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Feb 29, 2024
Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, inducted into Best in American Living Awards Hall of Fame
Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, has been inducted into the BALA Hall of Fame.
K-12 Schools | Feb 29, 2024
Average age of U.S. school buildings is just under 50 years
The average age of a main instructional school building in the United States is 49 years, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). About 38% of schools were built before 1970. Roughly half of the schools surveyed have undergone a major building renovation or addition.
MFPRO+ Research | Feb 28, 2024
New download: BD+C's 2023 Multifamily Amenities report
New research from Building Design+Construction and Multifamily Pro+ highlights the 127 top amenities that developers, property owners, architects, contractors, and builders are providing in today’s apartment, condominium, student housing, and senior living communities.
AEC Tech | Feb 28, 2024
How to harness LIDAR and BIM technology for precise building data, equipment needs
By following the Scan to Point Cloud + Point Cloud to BIM process, organizations can leverage the power of LIDAR and BIM technology at the same time. This optimizes the documentation of existing building conditions, functions, and equipment needs as a current condition and as a starting point for future physical plant expansion projects.
Data Centers | Feb 28, 2024
What’s next for data center design in 2024
Nuclear power, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and data centers as learning destinations are among the emerging design trends in the data center sector, according to Scott Hays, Sector Leader, Sustainable Design, with HED.
Windows and Doors | Feb 28, 2024
DOE launches $2 million prize to advance cost-effective, energy-efficient commercial windows
The U.S. Department of Energy launched the American-Made Building Envelope Innovation Prize—Secondary Glazing Systems. The program will offer up to $2 million to encourage production of high-performance, cost-effective commercial windows.
AEC Innovators | Feb 28, 2024
How Suffolk Construction identifies ConTech and PropTech startups for investment, adoption
Contractor giant Suffolk Construction has invested in 27 ConTech and PropTech companies since 2019 through its Suffolk Technologies venture capital firm. Parker Mundt, Suffolk Technologies’ Vice President–Platforms, recently spoke with Building Design+Construction about his company’s investment strategy.
Performing Arts Centers | Feb 27, 2024
Frank Gehry-designed expansion of the Colburn School performing arts center set to break ground
In April, the Colburn School, an institute for music and dance education and performance, will break ground on a 100,000-sf expansion designed by architect Frank Gehry. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the performing arts center will join the neighboring Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand by Gehry, forming the largest concentration of Gehry-designed buildings in the world.
Construction Costs | Feb 27, 2024
Experts see construction material prices stabilizing in 2024
Gordian’s Q1 2024 Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report brings good news: Although there are some materials whose prices have continued to show volatility, costs at a macro level are returning to a level of stability, suggesting predictable historical price escalation factors.
High-rise Construction | Feb 23, 2024
Designing a new frontier in Seattle’s urban core
Graphite Design Group shares the design for Frontier, a 540,000-sf tower in a five-block master plan for Seattle-based tech leader Amazon.
