Monday, June 24, 2019 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM (EDT)
Harvard Gutman Library | 6 Appian Way | Cambridge, MA 02138
Co-hosted by Harvard University
Learn how Harvard University is turning research into action by using their campus as a testbed to optimize for health in their spaces and throughout the supply chain. You will learn the latest science related to health and the built environment and how to translate this research into practice with tangible takeaways and actions.
Dr. Joseph Allen, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will provide a high-level overview of several aspects of health in the built environment and will specifically communicate the science behind chemical classes of concern commonly found in building products. Heather Henriksen, Managing Director of Harvard University’s Office for Sustainability, will explain how the University is reducing these chemical classes from its campus. With a diverse array of stakeholders in attendance, we’ll then explore the opportunities, challenges, and barriers associated with healthier buildings, and collectively identify effective, scalable solutions. Together, we will leave this summit informed and ready to pursue the next steps to creating healthier buildings and communities.
3 LU/HSW AIA credits are available.
Who should attend:
- Building owners and operators
- Professionals in architecture, design, and capital projects including construction, sub-contractors, specification writers
- Manufacturers of building and interior products
- Anyone who designs, builds, or operates buildings!
2018 Summit Recap:
- Our expert panel came together with a mission to inform architects, designers, and corporations how vital healthy buildings are for improving financial costs, the environment, and the health of each and every individual living and working in these buildings.
- We heard about the multitude of ways that buildings can affect us, whether through the air we breathe or the materials that surround us indoors.
In the year since our last Healthy Building Summit, we have been busy keeping this conversation alive: we formed a Health and Wellness Roundtable. We learned about Well V2, heard about the effects of indoor air quality on cognitive function, and discussed flame retardants in building products. We heard from leading manufacturers about their commitment to promoting transparency, eliminating chemicals of concern, and to evolving the Mindful Materials program. Now that we’re informed of the issues and understand the many facets that come into creating healthy buildings, we now face the next issue: how do we act on this knowledge and drive change?
Join us at Harvard University on Monday, June 24th as we roll up our sleeves and get to work on improving materials transparency and eliminating chemical classes of concern from the built environment.
Agenda:
9:00am -9:30am – Networking Breakfast
9:30am – 11:00am – The latest Science, Industry Check-in, and Harvard’s Case Study
11:00am – 12:00pm – Working Together: small group discussions form to tackle the challenges, barriers, and solutions needed as practitioners, as well as determine what tools and resources are most needed to advance healthier materials in their own work.
12:00pm – 12:30pm – Wrap-up
Meet Our Presenters
Dr. Joseph Allen, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science and 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, Harvard University
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 initiative that resulted in the University community achieving its initial science-based climate goal and the creation of Harvard’s first University-wide Sustainability Plan (co-created with faculty and students in 2014). Building on the 2016 goal achievement of a 30% absolution reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (2006-2016), the University’s ambitious new Climate Action Plan, announced last year, sets bold targets to transform the campus to be fossil fuel-free by 2050 and fossil fuel-neutral by 2026.
Nadav Malin
President, BuildingGreen
Nadav is the building industry’s acknowledged go-to resource when you need a thoughtful perspective on the materials and design solutions that define sustainable building practice. He is an experienced trainer and facilitator, convening the network of architecture firm Sustainable Design Leaders and teaching diverse groups about LEED and green building. He consults and leads workshops for major corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and design firms. He is a LEED Fellow and Honorary AIA.
Meet Our Sponsors
Coffee Station Sponsor
Buy Tickets While They Last!
Sponsor a Table
At USGBC MA’s Healthy Building Summit, we will empower building owners and stakeholders to increase their knowledge of healthy building materials and products. We have gathered an expert panel of healthy building’s best from top universities and companies. The event will start off with breakfast and coffee followed by our panel of top influencers.
Sponsoring a table at our Healthy Buildings Summit grants you front seat access to leaders within our network. When you sponsor a table, the seats are yours – you can give them to clients, employees, friends, and anyone else you would like to invite. It’s a great chance to not only connect and educate your colleagues with the latest and greatest in healthy building, but also to showcase your leadership in front of our community. For more information about sponsorship, reach out to us through the contact form below: