Zero Net Energy Buildings (or ZNEBs) are most commonly defined as buildings that produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis (this energy must be renewable).
However, there are actually a few different ways for buildings to achieve Zero-Net Energy status: the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) offers four definitions of ZNEBs in their report titled Getting to Net Zero. The first builds on the common definition (above), but is specifically tied to the project site: a building that produces at least as much renewable energy as it uses in a year, when accounted for at the site. The second version looks at the source of the energy, so a building that produces, and/or purchases as much renewable energy as it uses in a year. The third definition focuses on energy costs, which means the amount of money the utility pays the building owner for exporting renewable energy to the grid is at least equal to the amount the owner pays the utility for the energy services it uses over the year. The fourth way of defining ZNEBs concentrates on emissions; so the building must produce and/or purchase enough emissions-free renewable energy to offset emissions from all energy used in the building annually.
While these definitions may seem convoluted, they are in direct response to the complex environment of regulations, market forces, and financial incentives that affect different building owners and building types in a variety of ways. The variation between the definitions is an attempt to accommodate the diversity of our built environment so that all parties may participate in the ZNEB market.
These definitions also come into play when you consider recent planning initiatives for Eco-Districts and Zero Net Energy Neighborhoods. Again, there’s more than one way to get to Net-Zero and it won’t play out the same way in every building or every community. While ZNEBs are technically ‘just buildings’ they are actually part of a broader toolkit for transforming the built environment. It’s up to us to assess the potential ways that ZNEBs might be integrated into broader planning initiatives in order to achieve the maximum impact for our communities and the environment.
Investing in ZNEBs not only ensures positive environmental impact, but also offers potential for significant cost savings through more efficient and holistic design strategies, as well as insulation from swings in non-renewable energy costs.
How do we get more of them?
ZNEBs are becoming more ubiquitous, and Massachusetts has already made significant headway in supporting innovation in the market. The Department of Energy and Resources (DOER) announced 25 projects selected for the Pathways to Zero Net Energy Program,which is a $3.5 million initiative designed to facilitate the transition to the next generation of high-performance buildings.
The next step is to pass Senate Bill 1578: An Act Promoting Zero Net Energy Buildings in the Commonwealth, which is based on recommendations from Governor Patrick’s Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force, and was sponsored in the 2013-2014 session by Senator Jamie Eldridge. The bill was discharged to the committee on Senate Ethics and Rules in March of 2014, but no further action was taken. This year Senator Eldridge is sponsoring the bill again, under petition of Representatives Chris Walsh, Denise Provost, Marjorie Decker and David Rogers.
The bill seeks to change line “o” of the Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 143, Section 94, and add a line “s” after line “r” in the same section. You can read the specifics available through the advocacy resources section of the USGBC MA website, but there are several key changes to take note of.
In line “o” the bill seeks to establish a Zero Net Energy Building standard for new residential and commercial construction by 2020 and 2030 respectively. Also, the bill would implement regulations as part of the state building code, along with more stringent energy efficiency provisions requiring incremental improvements, starting with a 30% increase in efficiency over the International Energy Conservation Code.
In line “s” the bill calls for public input and consultation with the DOER to establish separate definitions for Zero Net Energy Buildings in both residential and commercial sectors by 2017 and 2018 respectively. The bill calls for the definitions to take into account zero net energy building definitions established in other places, as well as the current and anticipated climate of Massachusetts.
In support of the bill, and in anticipation of the public process that will unfold to produce appropriate definitions for ZNEBs in Massachusetts, the USGBC MA chapter will provide further blog posts on ZNEB practices, policies and projects in other states as well as right here in Massachusetts.
We also want to invite you to the next Green Breakfast, Thursday, March 19th at our Headquarters in downtown Boston. In addition to providing additional information on ZNEBs, we will also have presentations on Property Assessed Clean Energy financing (PACE) and Net-Metering.
Congratulations to the EMD Serono team which attained LEED Platinum for their “Project Bridgeway” at their campus in Billerica, Mass. Many excellent companies came together on the project team to make this a success. Special recognition goes to Chapter Sponsor, The Green Engineer, for their work to facilitate the LEED project.
USGBC Chairman Rick Fedrizzi had this to say: “On behalf of the US Green Building Council, I congratulate you on achieving LEED certification for Project Bridgeway. Your project has achieved LEED Platinum certification under the LEED for Commercial Interiors Rating System with a score of 81 points. This is a showcase example of sustainable design and demonstrates your leadership in transforming the building industry.”
Chapter members Chris Schaffner and Erik Ruoff (of The Green Engineer) and Chapter Board Chair Jim Newman (of Linnean Solutions) were on hand to support the LEED plaque ceremony.
From the website of Ellenzweig, an architectural firm involved with Project Bridgeway:
The EMD Serono Research Institute in Billerica, Massachusetts, will serve as one of the four hubs for the company’s global research and development organization, fosters enhanced collaboration and synergies to discover and develop innovative therapies with a focus on the therapeutic areas of oncology, neurodegenerative diseases and infertility. The state of the art Billerica facility is now home to approximately 200 scientists with expertise in cancer biology; cancer immunotherapy; oncogene signaling; manufacturing cell lines; medicinal chemistry; molecular modeling; protein engineering; and therapeutic antibodies.
Image credit: Ellenzweig.com Check out more images of Project Bridgeway on Ellenzweig's website.
One of our wonderful volunteers wrote extensively about glass facade buildings and the challenge these present to proponents of energy efficiency. Take a look at her recent blog entry at NESEA. Thanks for explaining this for us, Andrea!
Glazed towers dominate the skylines of our cities. However, most have been designed with little thought as to the climate in which they are located or the environmental impact they might have. According to the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) in 2003, 70 percent of energy use in commercial buildings is from the lighting and HVAC systems. The performance of both of these systems is directly related to the design and performance of the building envelope. Sealed, glazed façades, now so ubiquitous, lead to higher heating and cooling loads as well as glare and thermal comfort challenges.
Despite these challenges, many design teams pursuing sustainability continue to use all-glass façades because of their ability to connect interior and exterior environments. The market continues to demand, and architects to deliver, high glazing percentages for the daylight, views, and marketing potential they provide in green buildings. Such designs are difficult to make energy efficient, but many argue that fully glazed buildings, when designed correctly don't increase a building's energy usage.
The question remains: is an all-glass building a sustainable building?
Daylight
The principal benefit of glass façades is their ability to allow natural light into living and working spaces. Daylight provides high-quality illumination with less radiation than most artificial light sources, including fluorescents. When coupled with a high-performance glazing system, natural daylighting can reduce the heat load that comes from artificial light fixtures. A lighting control system that responds to changes in daylight can yield a dramatic reduction in the building's lighting energy use.
In addition to the energy benefits from daylighting, studies have found numerous psychological benefits. A 1999 study by the Heschong Mahone Group found that students in classrooms with more natural light scored up to 25 percent higher on standardized tests than other students in the same school district. Studies looking at the effect of natural light on productivity date back to the 1920s, when they were conducted on silk weavers; even then, daylight was shown to increase productivity. Numerous subsequent studies have shown improved performance and increased attention and alertness in occupants of daylit buildings.
Exposure to daylight has also been shown increase sales in retail establishments such as Walmart and Whole Foods. Walmart installed a daylighting system in one of its Kansas stores in the 1990s and had store employees rotate goods for sale under the natural light source; items sold better when under daylight.
Daylight has many benefits, but few studies have investigated how much glazing is needed to achieve good quality natural lighting. Most buildings do not need to be completely glazed to benefit from daylighting. For example, the glazed area below a work surface in an all-glass building has minimal impact on the daylight in a space.
Daylight has many benefits, but few studies have investigated how much glazing is needed to achieve good quality natural lighting. Most buildings do not need to be completely glazed to benefit from daylighting.
The rule of thumb in the industry (recommended by organizations such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) is that only 30 percent glazing is needed for optimum daylighting performance. Our findings atPayette corroborate this figure. Our computer simulations on the impact of the amount of glazing on daylighting have found in multiple projects that the Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) does not increase at all beyond 50 percent glazing. UDI looks at how much light a space receives above a specified target but below the threshold of lighting levels that will cause glare and discomfort. For example, a recent investigation for an east-facing office concluded that 40 percent glazing provided no any more useful daylight than 25 percent.
Energy
A well-designed daylighting strategy can decrease a building's light energy use and associated cooling load. However, as lighting power densities decrease with more efficient lighting technologies like LEDs, lighting represents an ever smaller portion of a building's total energy use. Glazing's biggest impact on building energy consumption comes from its impact on a space's heating and cooling loads. The solar heat gain from the sun increases proportionally with the amount of glass on a façade, which in turn increases the energy needed to cool the building.
A number of strategies exist to mitigate solar radiation, from external sun shading to frits and coatings on the glass. A well-designed shading system can significantly decrease but not block all heat gain, particularly on east- and west- facing façades, where low sun angles are particularly challenging.
In a cold climate like New England, the increase in heat loss in the winter as a result of high glazing percentages can significantly impact energy use. The current code requirement for maximum U-values for glazing is seven times higher than that of an opaque wall. Even with code-compliant glazing to high-performance triple glazing, the U-value is still three to four times greater than the maximum allowable for an opaque wall assembly. As a result, fully glazed buildings always have a much higher heating load than more moderately glazed buildings.
Double-skin façades have grown in popularity in recent years as a way to improve the energy performance of all-glass buildings. They work by capturing heat between the two glass walls to reduce winter heat loss and ventilating the same cavity in the summer to minimize heat gain. An integrated sun shading system between the two glass walls can further improve performance in the summer. While the double-skin façade can typically decrease a building's energy consumption in relation to a conventional, fully glazed façade, it still does not perform as well as an opaque wall with glazed openings.
Because lighting energy loads are decreasing and HVAC energy loads are increasing as the amount of glazing increases, an energy model is often the best method to determine the optimal amount of glazing.
While there is some variability based on the building type and climate, we have consistently observed buildings with a moderate amount (around 20 to 30 percent) of glazing use less energy than a fully glazed façade or one having little to no glass.
Comfort
Creating comfortable environments for building occupants in all-glass buildings can be a challenge. Direct solar radiation, particularly in the summer, can create localized hot spots in the building. If the thermostat is not in the sun and is therefore not experiencing the raised temperatures, it will not adjust the HVAC system to make the space comfortable for those in the sun. If the control is in the sun, the HVAC system can overcool occupants that are not directly in the sun, especially in open office spaces. A well-designed solar control strategy, using interior blinds or exterior sun shades, can mitigate this discomfort.
Winter conditions can also pose thermal comfort challenges in all-glass buildings. Because glass does not insulate well, it has a lower interior surface temperature than an opaque wall assembly. This increases the radiant heat transfer that happens between an occupant and the façade, and can make occupants feel cold even at a comfortable air temperature. The colder surface can also create a downdraft along tall vertical pieces of glass. Downdrafts occur as warm interior air hits the cold surface of the glass and falls, creating cold convective currents with temperatures and air speeds that can cause discomfort.
To combat this discomfort in fully glazed buildings, perimeter radiant heating is often added. Using a high-performance assembly, such as triple glazing, will raise the interior surface temperature, decreasing the radiant heat transfer and reducing the downdraft which can often create a thermally comfortable environment without the need for perimeter radiant heating. However, because comfort is determined by both glazing area and the U-value of the assembly, there is a limit to how low the U-value can be without needing mechanical means to create a comfortable environment. For the Boston climate, we have found that full-height glazing (60 to 70 percent glazed or higher) to be the comfort limit with a good triple-glazed window.
Visual discomfort can also be a challenge to control in fully glazed buildings. While increased glazing increases the amount of daylight in a space, you can have too much of a good thing, resulting in overlit spaces at the perimeter that create glare problems. A well-designed exterior shading system or fritted glass can help mitigate glare, but low sun angles in the morning and evening can still pose a challenge. Interior blinds are the most common glare-control strategy. Unless they are automated, however, they frequently are lowered during a brief period of glare and are not raised again. While this controls glare, it erases all of the benefits of daylighting and exterior views that you can get from glass.
Views
Visual connection to the exterior environment and nature is one of the biggest benefits of all-glass buildings. Views to the external environment have been shown to benefit the health and productivity of occupants because of the biophilic connection between humans and other living systems. The most famous of these is the seminal study by Roger Ulrich in 1981 that found that medical center rooms with views improved patient recovery rates by eight percent. As with the daylight studies, the percentage of glazing needed to achieve quality views is unclear. Some argue that punched windows common in buildings with limited glazing act much like a picture frame, allowing access to views while maintaining the thermal integrity of the building envelope.
Aesthetics
Because large panes of glass weren't commonly available until the mid-twentieth century, fully glazed buildings are associated with modernism. Both designers and building owners demand highly glazed buildings to give the image of transparency and modernity. But in an age where we must think about the environmental impact of the built environment, many argue that it is time to end our collective passion for all-glass buildings. Fully glazed buildings have become so ubiquitous that we as designers should embrace the challenge of creating a new image for what it means to be modern in this age. Design is about embracing constraints to create a new and beautiful building, and working with materials other than glass should be embraced as part of our design challenge.
Our PACE stakeholder focus group—made up of around 12 organizations and trade groups, primarily with environmental, labor, and economic development interests—is gaining momentum and working towards strengthening support for this year’s legislation. We are working with Senator Joyce’s office to bring in other co-sponsors up until the bill is brought out of committee. We are also collaborating with the Climate Action Business Group (CABA) to have a public forum around PACE financing and its relationship to resiliency planning.
Net Zero The current version of the Act promoting zero net-energy buildings in the Commonwealth by Senator Eldridge is gaining more co-sponsors, and is targeting a more stringent path to Net Zero Building Codes. The advocacy team is continuing to expand our network of support around this issue.
Our advocacy team is following the progress of the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Task Force on Net Metering. Among the issues the task force is examining are the potential impacts of a minimum bill for Massachusetts ratepayers and its impact on reaching the statewide goal of 1,600MW of solar. The task force has outlined 5 primary tasks to accomplish which you can see in detail here:consulting team status update and task presentation; the task force also provides a Table of policy options and a draft of the task 1 report.
Mark those calendars now, the next Green Breakfast will be held on Thursday March 19th and we will have presentations to describe each issue, and how you can help build momentum to pass this years legislation!
When Biogen Idec decided to locate their 204,000 sf expansion in Kendall Square, they also decided to work with an all-star cast of design, construction and real estate professionals. The project was developed by Boston Properties, designed by Elkus Manfredi, and built by Lee Kennedy Co. The Green Engineer helped to ensure the building attained LEED Gold certification for Core + Shell. The new office and lab space is linked to the existing Biogen building by a two-level connector structure, and is also powered by an existing steam plant.
The project earned 63 points, reducing indoor water use by 30%, potable water use in irrigation by 50%, achieving a 16% improvement in baseline building performance, using recycled building materials, and specifying FSC-certified wood products. For more details on the energy-saving features of the project check out the LEED scorecard here.
Massachusetts earned fifth place in our annual Top 10 list.
The results are in! All of the states that make up our Top 10 list have done an extraordinary job promoting LEED and making sustainable solutions a priority.
“The USGBC Massachusetts Chapter is proud to represent the high-achieving professionals of the green building industry who have worked hard to make Massachusetts a leader in the creation of LEED-certified space,” said Grey Lee, executive director USGBC Massachusetts Chapter.
Massachusetts certified 99 projects representing 14,662,950 square feet of real estate, or 2.2 square feet per resident, in 2014.
A sample of notable projects that certified in Massachusetts in 2014 includes:
Unitarian Universalist Association new Headquarters in Boston, LEED Platinum
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 130 Brookline Street in Cambridge, LEED Gold
Athol Public Library in Athol, LEED Platinum
Harvard Law School Gannett House in Boston, LEED Gold
Take a second to congratulate yourself, your colleagues, your legislators, and your friends on a job well done! Want to share the good news? Use the hashtag #Top10LEED on Twitter and Facebook.
Boston Properties certified two Class A, LEED Gold office buildings in 2014: 230 CityPoint and Reservoir Place, both along the 128 Corridor in Waltham. 230 CityPoint is part of a larger development which already includes another LEED Gold Certified building, 77 CityPoint. The two 6-story buildings provide over 500,000 sf of multi-tenant Class A office space, including a cafe, fitness center and conference center. 230 CityPoint earned 61 points to achieve its Gold certification, reducing indoor water consumption by 25%, using recycled materials and achieving an 87 Energy Star Performance Rating. The 25-acre CityPoint site features several additional parcels currently under development, 10 CityPoint and 99 Third Avenue Retail. See the LEED Scorecard here.
230 CityPoint
77 CityPoint
10 CityPoint (Under Development)
99 Third Avenue Retail (Under Development)
The second LEED Gold building certified by Boston Properties in 2014 is Reservoir Place, a 527,000 sf Class A office building on the northern edge of the Cambridge Reservoir. In addition to being the largest multi-tenant office building on Route 128, Reservoir Place features a cafe, fitness center, several shops and even tennis courts. Reservoir Place was constructed in 1955 and renovated in 1983, and not acquired by Boston Properties until 1998. The decision by Boston Properties to bring the project up to LEED Gold standards for Building Operations + Maintenance, represents their commitment to investing in energy-efficiency for both new and existing construction. See how Boston Properties was able to transform an existing building into a LEED Gold project by checking out the Scorecard here.
USGBC MA Cape & Islands Interest Group just enjoyed an evening with two sustainable landscape design presentations and a quick tour of a newly renovated commercial building.
Michael Talbot, co-owner of Talbot Ecological Land Care and principal at Environmental Landscape Consultants, LLC, and Seth Wilkinson, President of Wilkinson Ecological Design, each presented a program on ecological and sustainable land development. Michael provided an overview of sustainable landscape design and management principles, and Seth followed by reviewing case studies of how to incorporate sustainable design by including these principles in the planning and permitting phase of the building process. Each took questions afterward, as the 20-ish attendees enjoyed a fabulous food spread with refreshments sponored by Cape Associates.
The evening ended with a quick tour led by Adam Prince of ZeroEnergy Design together with Seth Wilkinson, as the group investigated the well insulated office building for Wilkinson Ecological Design which recently underwent a full gut renovation. With green architecture and mechanical design by ZeroEnergy Design, and construction by CapeWide Enterprises, the tour highlighted the many green features of the building.
PRESENTERS:
Michael Talbot, co-owner of Talbot Ecological Land Care
This year AHA Consulting Engineers completed a number of LEED certified projects, including the LEED Gold Certified Graduate Student Housing Project for Boston University. Developed by the Fallon Company, and designed by Beacon Architectural Associates, the 84,000 sf, 9-story project houses over 200 graduate students in 104 2-bedroom suites. Construction was finished in 2012 with a budget of $33 million, or around $390 per sf. This is the first phase in a larger development project on 1.7-acres adjacent to the Boston University Medical Center. The project includes a 12,000 sf park, and over 400,000 sf of development comprised of three buildings and parking facilities.
AHA's role on the project as Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing engineers significantly enhanced innovation in energy efficiency, and helped the project achieve LEED Gold Certification. The project reduced potential water consumption by 40% through the installation of low-flow fixtures, and by harvesting rainwater for use in a high-efficiency irrigation system for native plantings, which in conjunction with permeable surfaces, helps reduce storm water runoff.
The building is 18% more energy efficient than required by code, thanks to high-efficiency building envelope, efficient heating and lighting, energy recovery, and regenerative-drive elevators. There are individual thermal controls in every space, including offices and commons space to help save energy when spaces are not in use. The building employs both natural and mechanical ventilation to meet ASHRAE requirements, which improves the indoor air quality while saving energy.
Other programs in the building include a gym, extensive bicycle storage in the basement, laundry, and the Little Sprouts child care and early childhood education center on the ground floor. All of these features combined make a great place for graduate students to live well while saving energy. The project earned a total of 60 points, you can see more details by checking out the LEED scorecard here.
This past Saturday, the USGBC MA Chapter convened a tour of the Bechtel Environmental Center at the Smith College Field Station in Whatley, MA.
Student volunteers from Smith hosted us, first greeting us at the end of a long and winding country road, and then to describe how the College uses the facility for a variety of purposes. It was funded by the S.D Bechtel Jr. Foundation, in case you were wondering.
Shawn Hesse, of emersionDESIGN, a new member of our Board of Directors and long-time Chapter volunteer, is also an Ambassador for the International Living Future Institute. He regularly provides trainings and outreach programs for the Living Building Challenge. The BEC (as it is known) is the fifth Living Building ever certified. We are proud that we can visit, right here in Massachusetts, the result of a lot of hard work under the auspices of the Living Building Challenge!
Below is a map of the area.
It was quite picturesque.
Attending the tour were over 30 people, including Chapter Programs Manager, Steve Muzzy. The place is set up so you have to take a five-minute stroll (longer in the snow) from the parking area to get to the building. Nice gaiters, Steve!
Once inside, you can enjoy the cozy comfort and real beauty of the design – created by Coldham & Hartman Architects. Nice clerestory!
Shawn Hesse led the discussion – outlining the basic features of the Living Building Challenge and then going into detail on each of the petals.
Here we have the Smith College tour guides explaining how it came to be and how they use the place…including for ski weekend adventures and summer study sessions…
Here we have the speaking crew: Grey Lee, Emmett Wald, Brice Hereford, Julie Graham, & Shawn Hesse.
I got a chance to plug the Chapter and Brice gave the pitch for the visitors to become part of the West Branch. It was actually interesting how many people – perhaps a dozen – actually came out from the Boston area to see the place. Living Buildings have some real star power!
So cute!
Part of the Living Building Challenge is its petals and one of them is Equity – quite an advanced subject actually, and unfortunate that we have to enshrine it in a reward system like LBC rather than it being a spontaneous manifestation of the built environment.
And here are the requisite solar panels which enable the facility to achieve net zero energy. Now here are things that manifest rather regularly in the built environment. More every day!
Another petal is Health:
We anticipate returning to the BEC for a summer gathering – perhaps a solar-powered sustainable BBQ of some kind? I have a SolSource parabolic concentrator we could use for a giant pot of vegan chili!
At any rate, thank you to all the presenters, all the parties involved in the creation of this beautiful Living Building, and to all the attendees who made it through the rough roads and deep snow to visit and learn with us. We look forward to promoting the Living Building Challenge throughout Massachusetts and beyond.
See you next time!
Thank you for additional photos from Shawn Hesse, David Bliss and Chris Farley
Annie is widely regarded within the marketplace as an expert in third-party verification and sustainable program development. She previously held positions like Vice President of Certification Services at GreenCircle Certified, LLC until starting her own independent organization in 2017. She sits as a technical advisor to: the US Green Building Council’s Materials and Resources TAG, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), Clean Production Action and the GreenScreen Program, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, the ASTM E 60 Committee, and the Collaborative for High Performing Schools National Technical Committee.
LAUREN HILDEBRAND
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
Lauren Hildebrand is a Sustainability Director at SWA. Her work focuses on sustainable and high performance residential and commercial building design, construction, renovation, and operation. Ms. Hildebrand’s expertise includes: sustainable design integration; indoor air quality and energy performance testing; and implementing project certification for both commercial and residential programs, such as LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, NYSERDA, NJ Clean Energy, and Enterprise Green Communities. Awards presented to her clients include the 2013 USGBC NJ Urban Green Project Award. Ms. Hildebrand works as a LEED® for Homes Green Rater and verifies implementation of the LEED® for Homes criteria. She is an integral part of the initial strategic planning sessions and workshops with builders, architects, and homeowners based on the LEED for Homes program. She also partners with and implements criteria for Enterprise Green Communities (EGCC), NYSERDA’s Multi-Family Performance Program, and the ENERGY STAR® Multi-Family High-Rise Program Certification. Ms. Hildebrand also has experience with a variety of commercial and mixed use projects, including LEED® for New Construction, Commercial Interior, Core and Shell, and Schools. In addition to her project experience and program guidance, Ms. Hildebrand manages classroom training and curriculum development for architects, owners, developers and building management staff on green and high performance building design strategies, cost effective building system operation, and energy-saving maintenance practices.
MICHAEL GRYNIUK
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
Michael Gryniuk, PE is a Structural Engineer at LeMessurier in Boston. As the leader of LeMessurier’s Sustainability practice, he is responsible for strategy, project consulting, and education for LeMessurier. He is currently on the Steering Committee of Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Sustainability Committee of ASCE and currently serves as Chair of the Structural Engineers (SE 2050) Commitment Program Working Group whose aim to establish a national commitment program for structural engineers for the purpose of achieving net zero embodied carbon in structural systems by 2050. Mike taught for many years at the Boston Architectural College. His current projects include the 2 million square foot Hub on Causeway development as well as upcoming developments of Kenmore Square. Mike has also led several other projects for institutions including Boston College, Holy Cross, RISD and UNH. Mike attended Syracuse University and Tufts University.
ANNE PECK
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
As Vice President in AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group, Ms. Peck is responsible for physical property inspections, engineering and mechanical system evaluations and environmental audits on potential investments for all commercial property types. She is also responsible for the review and analysis of energy audits and LEED gap analysis with respect to acquisitions, and oversees the scope and results of third-party due diligence reports on property acquisitions. For development projects, Ms. Peck is responsible for the evaluation of construction documents to assess the constructability and recommend sustainable products and practices. She is responsible for overseeing the construction of new development projects from AEW’s initial involvement through closeout and warranty completions. Ms. Peck assists asset managers with large capital improvement projects or physical problems at various properties. In addition, Ms. Peck Co-Chairs AEW’s Sustainability Committee and provides guidance and assistance with most sustainability initiatives with the objective of reducing operating costs, improving indoor air quality and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. She sits on the GRESB Real Estate Benchmark Committee in North America and assists with all sustainability reporting for AEW. Ms. Peck is a licensed Massachusetts Construction Supervisor with LEED AP Certification, and passed her FE exam towards a mechanical engineer/registered professional engineering license.
ANDREA ALAOWNIS
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Andrea Alaownis is an Interior Designer with the Jacobs, Boston, MA office. After graduating from Radford University, she has concentrated on commercial projects through all phases of design and construction. As a WELL Accredited Professional, she participated in assisting the Jacobs Boston office to achieve WELL V1 Gold, Fitwel 3 Stars, and LEED V4 Gold certifications and continues to educate the design community and clients on wellness through design.
KIMBERLY LEWIS
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
As Senior Vice President for Market Transformation and Development in North America, Kimberly Lewis knows better than anyone that market transformation begins with community. Kimberly is laser focused on diversity, inclusion, equity and advancing transparency and excellence. By honing our community’s focus on collaborative impact, Kimberly incorporates people‐centric strategies to provide the organization and movement with a strong foundation of stakeholder based support.
Kimberly’s efforts encourage innovation in the market and challenge all of our community members to go above and beyond what was possible yesterday, to define the built environment of tomorrow. Kimberly knows that when we celebrate our leaders and advocate for growth across sectors, regions, and programs, taking care to bring our best to underserved populations and communities, we achieve real and lasting market transformation of the highest order.
To this end, Kimberly directs all of USGBC’s local communities, volunteers, and emerging professionals around the world, delivering on the USGBC mission to improve the quality of life for all through more sustainable cities and communities worldwide.
Kimberly was the founder of the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, which is now globally represented in five international markets. She has served on the advisory boards of Starwood Hotels, Marriott International Hotels and the convention and visitors bureaus in New Orleans, Atlanta, and Denver. She is a member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), where she has served on the CSR task force.
Kimberly serves on the board of directors for Groundswell and is the former chair of the board of trustees of the Green Building Foundation. Committed to healthy communities and equitable access to green buildings regardless of income level, Kimberly has been recognized with numerous awards. In April 2011, Kimberly received prestigious recognition as the White House Champion of Change for Clean Energy. She was also named Glamour Magazine 70th Anniversary 70 Women Leaders to Know in Sustainability. Most recently Kimberly was recognized with GB&D Magazine’s 2018 Women in Sustainability Leadership Award.
JIM STANISLASKI
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston
Jim Stanislaski, AIA LEED AP BD+C is an Architect at Gensler in Boston. As co-leader of Gensler’s northeast region Design Resilience practice, he is responsible for strategy, project consulting, and education for over 1,000 staff in four offices. He is currently a Director on the Board of USGBC MA and a member of the Architecture Boston Magazine Editorial Board. Jim is a former President of AIA MA and has served on two National Academies research panels for renewable energy and energy efficiency at airports. As a past co-chair of the Boston Society of Architects Committee on the Environment (BSA/COTE), Jim led the AIA 2030 Professional Series at the BSA, serving to educate local designers on strategies to achieve net positive energy goals for buildings. Jim has also testified before state and city government committees to advocate for environmental legislation and regulation. Jim started his career as a US Air Force officer and attended Syracuse University.
CARLIE BULLOCK-JONES
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
Carlie Bullock-Jones, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, is the founder and managing Principal of Ecoworks Studio and has dedicated her entire career to bringing about a greener, healthier built environment. As a nationally known expert in sustainability, Carlie has facilitated on numerous award-winning projects. With a passion for green sports, Carlie has spearheaded LEED certification efforts for several stadiums, arenas, and training facilities for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS and higher education projects. Most notably, Carlie was the LEED consultant for the new home of the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz stadium, which achieved the highest LEED Platinum score of any sports facility in the world.
As a LEED Faculty mentor for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the first external WELL Faculty for the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Carlie is a highly sought-after speaker and writer for national events and publications. She has been extensively involved in the development of LEED standards over the years, serving as a Subject Matter Expert for USGBC and GBCI, assisting in course curriculum, exam development and reference guide creation. In 2012, Carlie was inducted by USGBC as a LEED Fellow, one of 77 in the world at that time. Carlie is also one of the first WELL Accredited Professionals on the planet, demonstrating expertise and extensive knowledge of human health and wellness in the built environment. As an early adopter of the WELL Building Standard, Carlie facilitated WELL certification efforts for the 27th, 37th and 100th WELL certified projects in the world (Silver, Gold and Platinum respectively). Most recently, Carlie was the recipient of the 2018 Inaugural IWBI WELL Leadership Recognition Award.
KOMAL KOTWAL
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Komal Kotwal is a Sustainable Design Leader and Project Manager at HOK with over 13 years of experience. Komal has led sustainable design and LEED Certification efforts for over 2M square feet including 1+M sf. of LEED Platinum projects and two Net-Zero projects. With the intent of bringing the human connection to sustainability, Komal currently focuses on intentional design to address human behavior and foster physical, mental, and emotional health. As a WELL AP, Komal is one of HOK’s leads in promoting and practicing health and wellness in architecture. Komal has served on the AIA Houston Chapter’s Board of Directors, Texas USGBC Regional Council and on USGBC’s Greenbuild Program Committee among others. A strong advocate for equity and inclusivity, Komal serves on HOK’s firm-wide Diversity Advisory Council and is a recent addition to HOK’s Management Board.
Speaking Engagements
TSA Convention 2016: Design for Healthy & Livable Communities
Gulf Coast Green Conference 2015: Integrating LEED ND Communities
CSI Chapter Annual Meeting 2014 : 2030 Commitment and how to get there
American Society of Indian Engineers ( ASIE) 2016: Getting to LEED Platinum
University of Houston, 2018: Staying Ahead of the Commercial Energy Code
Texas A&M University, 2016: Integrating Sustainability: A path to Net-zero
ANITA SNADER
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Anita Snader is the Environmental Sustainability Manager of Armstrong World Industries in Lancaster, PA. She manages the sustainability strategy for Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions, and serves as an internal environmental advocate, and environmental spokesperson. She is a LEED accredited professional, and well versed in the LEED rating systems and USGBC initiatives. As co-chair of Armstrong’s LEED EB team, she led the corporation to a LEED EB Platinum for their Headquarters building in Lancaster, PA in June 2007, and served on the team obtaining LEED EB recertification in 2014.
Recently, Anita has led Armstrong in a new initiative focusing on the Health and Wellbeing of occupants called Better Spaces. She drives the material health and transparency efforts, and created and manages Armstrong’s commitment through our SUSTAIN™ portfolio of high performance ceiling systems.
Anita joined Armstrong in 1997. Her experience is in Marketing, Research, Product Development and Customer Satisfaction both in the consumer goods, hospitality, building products and advertising industries. Her passion centers in developing strategies for reducing our impact on the environment through product and process innovation, and is always looking at opportunities to share knowledge and innovation with others.
Speaking Engagements: • Mindful Materials Series (2018 – NYC, Chicago)
• USGBC Central PA – 2017 – Green Con – Healthier Buildings
• USGBC GreenBuild – 2016 – Los Angeles, CA – LEEDv4 and Material transparency
• Living Future – Seattle 2016 – Declare and Living Building Challenge
• Costa Rica Green Building Congress – May 2015 – Materials and LEEDv4
• Canada Green Building Conference – June 2015 – Panel on Material Transparency
• USGBC GreenBuild – 2014 New Orleans, PA – two sessions
• State of Green Business – 2011
• PA Green Growth Partnerships, Pittsburgh, PA 2009
• PennTap, Green Workshop, Harrisburg, PA 2008
• Central PA USGBC Chapter Construction Waste Workshop, 2008
• LEED for Existing Building Workshop, Lancaster, PA, November 2007
• NeoCon East, Green Building Workshop, Baltimore, MD, October 2007
• ICA International Conference – Madrid- Acoustics and Green Building, September 2007
• ASHRAE ‘007 Conference – Long Beach, CA – Acoustics and Green Building, May 2007
• GreenBuild 2006 – Got LCA?, November 2006
• Local Green Building Council of PA –LEED for Schools Workshop, October 2006
• Various Recycling Summits throughout the nation
• Customer and sales presentations each month
Tune in:
Listen to a podcast interview with Anita Snader here.
DR. JOSEPH ALLEN
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Dr. Allen researches community and occupational exposures and health risks related to a broad range of chemical, biological, physical and radiological stressors. In particular, he focuses on the built environment, emissions from building materials and consumer products, and building system performance, each of which has the potential for both positive and negative impacts on human health, well-being and productivity. He is the Director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and faculty director of the Harvard Sensors for Health research group. Dr. Allen teaches a class on the Impact of Buildings on Human Health, and is the faculty advisor for a new initiative out of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability – the Harvard Healthier Building Materials Academy.
HEATHER HENRIKSEN
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Heather Henriksen has served as Harvard University’s chief sustainability officer since 2008, advising the President and senior leadership on strategy and building an organizational change enterprise. Heather leads the Office for Sustainability which oversees the implementation of the Harvard’s comprehensive Sustainability Plan (co-created with faculty and students in 2014) and the University’s ambitious new Climate Action Plan (to be fossil fuel-free by 2050 and fossil fuel-neutral by 2026) which builds upon the 2016 achievement of Harvard’s initial science-based climate goal.
The Office for Sustainability has expanded a multi-disciplinary living laboratory research program that partners with faculty and students to use the campus as a test bed for piloting and sharing innovative solutions to real-world sustainability challenges. A nationally recognized leader in healthier building materials, Heather is leading an effort with faculty within Harvard to translate research into practice related to heath in the built environment including a focus on addressing the use of chemicals of concern in common building products. Through this work, Harvard is partnering with business and non-profit leaders as they strive to transform the marketplace for a healthier built environment. Heather also advises courses throughout Harvard College and the professional graduate schools and speaks nationally and internationally on sustainability.
Heather is on the Board of Directors of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative. Heather serves as Advisory Committee Co-chair of the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), and she is a member of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Heather holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
LAUREN M. WALLACE
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Lauren M. Wallace is a Principal and the Director of Certifications and Consulting at Epsten Group, Inc., where she has helped facilitate sustainability and wellness measures for thousands of projects around the globe. Ms. Wallace is a USGBC and WELL Faculty member, WELL AP, LFA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED Project Reviewer, BREEAM USA In-Use Assessor, Fitwel Ambassador, Parksmart Advisor, and TRUE Advisor. With a background in Architecture, Ms. Wallace has more than ten years of experience in sustainability. She speaks regularly to audiences with varying expertise about implementing change in the building industry, focusing on technical information and application.
BECCA RUSHIN
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Becca Rushin is the Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Jamestown where she leads ESG initiatives through the Jamestown Green program and the Jamestown Charitable Foundation. Prior to joining Jamestown in 2012, Ms. Rushin worked as a local government consultant for Clark Patterson Lee, where she served as Community Development Coordinator and Sustainability Commission Staff Liaison for the City of Dunwoody. She is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and holds a LEED AP O+M credential. Ms. Rushin is an active volunteer with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Environmental Policy from Sewanee: the University of the South and a Master of Science in Sustainable Development: Environmental Policy and Management from Utrecht University.
JODI SMITS ANDERSON
Director of Sustainability Programs, DASNY | LEED AP BD+C
Jodi Smits Anderson is the Director of Sustainability Programs for DASNY, an architect, LEED AP BD+C, AIA member, lifetime member of NESEA, past regional and national U.S. Green Building Council committee member, wife, mom, hiker, kayaker, knitter, and storyteller. She has spoken at the ILFI unconference in Seattle, WA, at the NACUBO conference in Austin, TX, at the first Wellness in Design conference in San Diego, CA, and several times each at Greenbuild, NESEA’s Building Energy Boston, and the NYS Green Building Conference, and has been a guest teacher at SUNY ESF, RPI, Ithaca College, NYU, Cornell, and SUNY Albany. She is a NY Energy Code trainer, the 2018 recipient of the Green Building Advocate award, and has assisted in research and writing for Project Drawdown, which cites the 100 market-proven ways we already have in our toolkit to reduce CO2 in our atmosphere. She has a featured article appearing in the Journal of Green Building’s V14 N3 in July of 2019, on Excellence in Building Envelopes, and is currently working on a ZNE renovation to an existing residence hall, a project intended to change how we do renovation projects in New York state. Jodi’s goal is to understand and incorporate informed sustainable practices into design, construction, and living, and to share whatever she has learned and learn still more from whomever will talk with her.
JIM NEWMAN
Founder and Principal, Linnean Solutions | LEED AP, O+M; EcoDistrict AP
Jim is the Founder and Principal at Linnean Solutions, a mission-driven firm that helps local governments, organizations, and communities reach sustainability and resilience goals. Jim’s twenty years of experience includes carbon mitigation planning and life cycle assessment; sustainability and resilience building certification; climate action and adaptation planning for municipalities, agencies, and organizations; resilience analysis, policy, and design standard development; EcoDistrict planning and management; and stakeholder engagement processes to strengthen communities. As a Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems (LENSES) Facilitator and Trainer, Jim regularly leads community planning workshops, and trains others in becoming effective facilitators.
Previous to Linnean, Jim worked with BuildingGreen as the Director of Strategy, where he led the development and introduction of most of BuildingGreen’s online products including LEEDuser.com, BuildingGreen Suite, and the High Performance Buildings Database. Jim is a founding board member of the Resilient Design Institute, and a key author of several influential resilience reports and tools—including the Building Resilience in Boston report and
the Enterprise Community Partners’ Ready to Respond: Strategies for Multifamily Building Resilience manual. He is a member of the RELi/USGBC Steering Committee, where he has worked to bring a social equity lens to the development of the new certification standard for resilient buildings.
JULIE JANISKI
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Julie Janiski leads integrated teams of engineers, designers, analysts, and subject-matter experts at BuroHappold Engineering for projects with ambitious goals related to design innovation, building performance, and the health, wellbeing and experience of building occupants and community. Julie’s recent work includes: Cornell Tech’s new Verizon Executive Education Center with Snohetta; Glenstone Museum with Thomas Phifer and Partners, St. Ann’s Warehouse theatre in Brookyln with Marvel Architects; a number of U.S. Embassy projects internationally for the U.S. State Department; a new corporate headquarters campus in Baltimore for Under Armour; an integrated “roadmap” plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2050 (80×50) for the City of New York; and The House at Cornell Tech – a residential high-rise in New York City which is certified Passive House. Julie also teaches at Columbia University’s GSAPP in the first-year core studio, and has been a guest critic/lecturer at other universities including MIT, Tulane, and NYU.
SARA NEFF
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Sara Neff is Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation. Sara took Kilroy from having no sustainability program to being named the #1 publicly traded real estate company on sustainability in North America by GRESB, and under her leadership the company recently committed to becoming the first carbon neutral real estate company in North America by the end of 2020.
At Kilroy, she oversees all sustainability initiatives such as solar and battery deal-making, the implementation of energy and water efficiency initiatives throughout the existing and development portfolios, the integration of sustainability standards into annual financial reports, the launch of the Kilroy Innovation Lab, and the award-winning green leasing program. She holds a BS from Stanford and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
TRISTAN ROBERTS
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Tristan Roberts is responsible for leading staff support for HPDC’s Technical Committee, education programs, and the evolution of the HPD Open Standard. Mr. Roberts is a leader in the advancement of green building practices. Prior to joining HPDC in May 2018, he was part of BuildingGreen, Inc. for eleven years, where he most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer, moderating and leading the community development of LEEDuser forum which supports over 10,000 users. He is the author of hundreds of articles and in-depth reports on building industry trends and technologies, and is a frequent speaker and educator in the areas of green building and sustainable design. His objective stance and focus on practical tools has earned him the trust of a wide spectrum of stakeholders in the industry, including architects, sustainability professionals, manufacturers, and nonprofit groups. Mr. Roberts has taught sustainability and building science at the Boston Architectural College.
TIM CONWAY
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
As a flooring industry expert, Tim Conway is focused on the positive affects that sustainable flooring products have on our buildings, and more importantly, the people that occupy and live in the spaces we design. Tim has worked closely with Bill McDonough and the internal team at Shaw for the past twelve years developing and maintaining Shaw’s Cradle to Cradle certifications, HPDs and EPDs. His unique role at Shaw enables him to drive the communication between clients’ requirements and the product development team at Shaw. He has presented at GreenBuild, Living Future, and Design Future Council and has been an integral part in the development of healthy carpet specifications for clients all over the world. Tim is passionate about collaborating with clients to develop flooring specifications that are safe throughout a product’s entire supply chain, from raw material chemical building blocks to end of life replication. He has a unique ability to translate complex systems like Cradle to Cradle and HPDs into simple stories that empower change and deliver buildings that have positive intent for the future of our people and our planet.
BILL WALSH
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Bill Walsh is the Founder and President of the Board of the Healthy Building Network (HBN). Since 2000 HBN has been defining the leading edge of healthy building practices that increase transparency in the building products industry, reduce human exposures to chemicals in building materials, and create market incentives for healthier innovations in manufacturing. He has been Visiting Professor at Parsons The New School for Design, is a Fellow of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts, and a founding board member of the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Collaborative. Bill and HBN have been awarded the Design for Humanity Award by the American Society of Interior Designers (2019); WEACT for Environmental Justice Leadership Award (2018); Healthy Schools Network Hero (2013); US Green Building Council’s Leadership In Advocacy Award (2012). Previously he served as a national campaign director at Greenpeace USA, and held staff attorney positions with the US Public Interest Research Group and the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and LLM in Public Interest Advocacy from Georgetown University.
BRENT TRENGA
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
Brent has truly run the construction industry gamut serving in various roles including Architect, Construction Manager, Developer and even project owner, allowing him to fully understand the sustainability ecosystem. As Building Technology Director for Kingspan North America, Brent is committed to reducing the environmental impact of business operations, products and services through continuous improvement and environmental transparency.
JENNIFER TARANTO
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador Structure Tone, Director of Sustainability
Jennifer Taranto ensures the principals of sustainability, wellbeing, and Lean construction are incorporated into client projects and everyday work practices throughout the STO Building Group.
Jenn is a passionate advocate for reducing environmental impact of the built environment and enabling organizations to improve people’s health and wellbeing while reducing the construction and operating costs of facilities. She gets involved in the early stages of client projects to define the needs and the overall sustainability goals in order to create an internal road map to team success.
Jennifer brings more than eighteen years of experience in the commercial real estate and construction industry, and joined Structure Tone in 2001. Her previous roles included superintendent and project manager prior to becoming Structure Tone’s Director of Sustainability in 2008.
As a founder of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter and the former Chair of the Chapter’s Board of Directors she is recognized as a leader in the sustainable built environment. She has lectured at Wentworth Institute of Technology and Boston University and spoken at Labs21 Conference (I2SL), Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s Sustainability Symposium, Living Futures and Greenbuild. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Jennifer has a Bacon number of 2.
LEIGH STRINGER
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Leigh Stringer is a workplace strategy expert and researcher whose work has been covered recently by BBC News, The Globe and Mail, Fortune, CNN and Good Morning America. She works for EYP, an architecture and engineering firm. She is the author of two best-selling books, The Green Workplace and The Healthy Workplace. Leigh is currently collaborating with Harvard University’s School of Public Health on a new Health and Human Performance Index and the Center for Active Design in New York on their Fitwel building certification program to create new tools, connect like minds and blur the boundaries across industries in order to advance our improve our well-being at work. Leigh is on the board of directors of a new non-profit, Global Women for Wellbeing, an organization that aims to give women a voice to create better health and wellbeing for themselves, their businesses, and their communities.
CHARLEY STEVENSON
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Charley Stevenson has been delving deeper and deeper into healthier building materials since beginning work on his first Living Building Challenge project in 2011. With the team at IES, he has developed process and software to integrate better materials selections into all project types and to transform the market as quickly and easily as possible. The Red2Green platform has reduced Red List research and documentation effort by a factor of three while building up a library of over 10,000 products screened for compliance.
PETER SMITH
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
Peter is engaged with leading organizations and institutions seeking to transform their real estate portfolios to enhance health and business metrics. As Senior Vice President at IWBI, he leads a team driving the global growth and adoption of the WELL Building Standard, the first performance-based building standard to exclusively focus on human health. Peter is also an active speaker and educator, promoting health in the built environment through industry events and technical workshops. Previously, Peter served as Vice President of Delos Solutions, a team of consultants and subject matter experts incorporating health and wellness strategies into the pioneering WELL Certification projects. Working closely with Delos Labs, an internal research group, he identified best-in-class design solutions, products and technologies to improve the built environment and optimize for human health, well-being and environmentally sustainability. Peter has an extensive background in building science and energy efficiency. Prior to joining Delos and IWBI, he worked as a Sustainability Consultant at Steven Winter Associates, an industry leading green building consulting firm. Focusing on affordable housing in the greater New York City area, Peter worked with multifamily developers to implement sustainable design principles and energy efficiency measures into new construction projects and validate high-performance building criteria. Peter holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in Environmental Economics. He also maintains accreditations for WELL AP™ and WELL Faculty™.
JASON JEWHURST
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Jason’s passion for reconnecting with the natural environment informs all of his work as a specialist in sustainable and high-performance building design. With a strong technical background in building systems, technology, and sustainability, Jason is driven by a deep respect for craftsmanship and the art of making and by the possibilities created by merging tested traditions of construction with new fabrication technologies and material production. He leads design teams to explore possibilities inspired by a shared set of values and goals to create high-performance contemporary architecture that is beautiful and inspiring. He is a recipient of a 2017 Living Hero Award.
BLAKE JACKSON
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
Blake Jackson is an architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader with Stantec Architecture and Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts. His work focuses on the nexus between sustainability, wellness, and resiliency, and he has over fifteen years’ experience in planning, retail, hospitality, labs, healthcare, commercial, higher-education, and multifamily projects. Blake is a prolific author and speaker on his three main areas of focus, is an adjunct faculty at the Boston Architectural College and at Mount Ida College, and he currently serves as the Vice President for Advocacy for the Boston Society of Architects. He was named a national top “40 Under 40” built environment professional by Building Design and Construction Magazine in 2015.
ANNE HARNEY
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Anne Hicks Harney has over 30 years of experience, focusing on high quality design imbued with a solid technical and sustainable foundation. Formed in 2016, Long Green Specs provides sustainability focused construction specifications and building science material expertise to Architectural firms across the country. She is a member of the AIA COTE Advisory Group. She was a founding co-chair of the Baltimore – Building Enclosure Council, chair of the AIA Materials Knowledge Working Group, and a member of the USGBC Materials & Resources Technical Advisory Group. In 2016, Ms. Harney was awarded fellowship by the AIA and became a LEED Fellow.
Speaking Engagements
Living Future unconference 2019 – Using the AIA COTE Toolkit to Elevate Every Project –
Living Future unconference 2019 – Entering the material pool – deep end jump or shallow slide?
2019 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit – Go Forth and Prosper, While Changing the World
Greenbuild 2018: Chicago IL, November 2018 – Closing the Transparency Loop: Collaboration in Action
AIA Conference on Architecture 2018, New York NY: Holding Ourselves to Higher Standards – Healthy Materials Every Time
BRENT EHRLICH
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Brent is the products & materials specialist at BuildingGreen, where he has been researching and writing about green building products, materials, and their health and environmental impacts for more than a decade. He brings a nuanced understanding of materials, their constituents, and lifecycles to his work as a consultant and speaker and leads a team of editors that selects products for the company’s BuildingGreen Approved database and annual Top 10 Products Award.
Speaking Engagements
• Annual BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Products award at Greenbuild (8 years as presenter)
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association: NESEA 2014: The Forest and the Trees
• NESEA 2011: Materials Track Chair + Cool New Products presentation
MATT EDLEN
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Matt Edlen oversees acquisitions and development in the Midwest and East Coast for Gerding Edlen’s various investment funds. Matt is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing on investment opportunities across key urban markets within those regions.
Prior to his role in acquisitions, Matt was focused on the development and management of the firms internal multifamily marketing and sales platform. His efforts have helped the firm invest over $1 billion worth of real estate across the country in cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago.
Matt currently serves as national chair of the board for Design Museum Foundation and as a board member for Boston’s NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing), and The Oregon Sports Authority. He has also served as board member and chair of the site selection committee for PHAME Academy, board member and co-chair of the Arts Connector Program of Business for Culture and the Arts, and alumni board member of Young People’s Theater Project. Matt earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola University of Chicago.
MIKHAIL DAVIS
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Mikhail Davis is Director of Restorative Enterprise at Interface, a world-leading modular flooring company with a fully integrated collection of hard and soft flooring. Interface’s mission, Climate Take Back™, invites industry to commit to making a profit in a way that is restorative to the planet and creates a climate fit for life. Mikhail is responsible for advancing Interface’s mission in the Americas by building internal leadership capacity, facilitating strategic alignment of efforts, and creating external partnerships that shift the marketplace toward sustainability. He leads Interface’s product transparency efforts in the Americas and was lead author and editor of Interface’s Radical Industrialists column at GreenBiz.com for two years.
An expert in sustainable materials and NGO collaborations, he represents Interface in many organizations focused on sustainability innovation, closed-loop systems, recycling, and chemicals of concern, including serving as 2016-18 Chair of the US Green Building Council’s Technical Advisory Group on Materials and Resources (MR TAG), Co-Chair of the Materials Working Group of BizNGO and Program Advisor to the Next Generation Bio-based and Sustainable Chemicals Summit.
STEVEN BURKE
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company
Steven is a Sustainability Manager at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., an 800+ person construction firm based in Massachusetts. His position involves management of company sustainability processes and sustainable construction projects at Consigli. He has a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, and has delivered many presentations on how to integrate health and wellness into the design and construction of the built environment.
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Global Head of Sustainability, Superior Essex
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston 
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Director of Sustainability Programs, DASNY | LEED AP BD+C
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company