USGBC-NCC's Super Heroes Awards Gala

By Sonya Ringer, Marketing & Membership Intern, USGBC-NCC

On Wednesday, May 23, green building super heroes and their fans gathered together at San Francisco’s InterContinental Hotel (LEED Gold Certified!) for USGBC-NCC’s annual Super Heroes Awards Gala. The Gala, which drew 400 attendees this year, served as an opportunity to celebrate the contributions made by leaders in green building and sustainable practices. The Gala was also the official kick-off event for the Road to Greenbuild, an initiative to drum up excitement and momentum for Greenbuild 2012, the conference and expo which San Francisco will be hosting this November.

The evening began with a lively VIP reception, followed by dinner. The award ceremony got underway as dessert was served.

The ceremony began with the award for Outstanding Community Organization. This award recognizes non-profit organizations that demonstrate a profound impact on their communities through commitment to sustainability and social equity. This award was given to First Community Housing, an organization that focuses on creating and remodeling housing, so that it is both affordable and sustainable. Jeff Oberdorfer, Executive Director of First Community Housing, accepted this award.

The award for Outstanding Green Portfolio, which recognizes companies that demonstrate exceptional leadership in the adoption of green building standards and practices, went to Google and was accepted by George Salah, Director of Real Estate and Workplace Services. Google has set LEED Gold as its minimum standard for all new construction. Google also places a premium on indoor environmental quality and employee health. As Salah said at the end of his acceptance speech, “It’s all about us,” underscoring the effect built environments have on human health and welfare, and the effect that those considerations have on the success of a company.

Both the City and County of San Francisco and Hines were recognized with Honorable Mentions in the Outstanding Green Portfolio category. Highlights from the City and County of San Francisco portfolio include the California Academy of Sciences’ LEED Double Platinum rating; Laguna Honda Hospital, California’s first LEED Certified Hospital; and the San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2, which is the first LEED Gold certified airport terminal in the country.

Hines, an early leader in LEED and EnergyStar, boasts the highest Operations and Management LEED score in the world at 101 California Street in San Francisco. Additionally, Hines has more than 100 million square feet of commercial space that is either LEED certified or in the process of certification.

A high point in the evening was the announcement of the winner of the David Gottfried Special Achievement Award, which honors individuals whose careers and contributions to the industry demonstrate exceptional passion, leadership, and commitment to the green building movement. This award was given to Kevin Hydes, President and CEO at Integral Group. Hydes is an internationally recognized leader in sustainable design. He helped found the Northern California chapter of the USGBC, served as a chair of the USGBC, was a founder and director of Canada GBC, and was a chair of the World GBC. Additionally, Integral Group’s Oakland offices can claim the highest LEED for Commercial Interiors score in the world. The be-kilted Hydes spoke graciously, and convinced the audience to join him in a quick chorus of “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.”

Finally, the USGBC-NCC announced a surprise award for Green Groundbreakers. The USGBC-NCC gave awards to Mike Herring, Chief Operating Officer at Adobe; Keith Sonberg, Director of Facilities at Genentech; George Salah, Director of Real Estate and Workplace Services at Google; Jeffrey Mills, Vice President at Prudential Real Estate Investors; Larry Morgan, Head of Facilities Operation and Sustainability at SAP; and Jennifer Nguyen, Director of Workplace at Zynga.

These awards were given in recognition of a serious commitment these companies have made. The Green Groundbreaker award was given as special recognition to six companies that have signed on to the California Best Buildings Challenge to reduce their energy consumption, water use, and waste production by 20 percent over a two year period. Altogether, these six companies have pledged more than 5 million square feet to this project.

As part of the Green Groundbreaker announcement, Google’s Ada Wong, a Biggest Loser runner-up, spoke about her journey toward better health, and suggested that just like many Americans, our buildings also need to cut back on consumption, and “slim down.”

This year’s Super Heroes Awards Gala began by recognizing and applauding the work that has already been done by leaders in green building. It ended with a call to look forward and to commit to making serious changes in the way buildings are constructed and operated.

To view photos of the event, visit our album here.