FIRED Up for Greenbuild!

Special Announcement at Executive Road to Greenbuild Event, Remarks by Rick Fedrizzi and Dan Geiger 

By Ashleigh Talberth, Director, Special Projects, USGBC-NCC

On September 20th, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and USGBC- Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) hosted a Road to Greenbuild Executive Lunch to fire up the region for the largest industry conference worldwide - Greenbuild International Conference and Expo - coming to San Francisco this Nov. 14 to 16.

The event kicked off with inspiring remarks by Dan Geiger, Executive Director, USGBC-NCC, followed by an especially creative presentation by Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman. Over 150 regional executives and politicians attended the event including Ruth Cox, Regional Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Elizabeth Echols, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

Dan concluded his speech with a special milestone announcement – USGBC-NCC’s California Best Buildings Challenge(CBBC) more than doubled to 13 companies! The announcement brings in seven new partners since the launch, and puts the Challenge at over six million square feet of collective building space.

Executives from Bayer, Integral Group, Lockheed Martin, Method, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Webcor Builders, and XL Construction joining existing Challenge participants Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP, and Zynga on stage for the announcement.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge that seeks 20 percent energy reductions by 2020, participating companies of the CBBC commit to pursue 20 percent reductions in energy, water, and waste in their existing commercial buildings in just two years.

“California companies have always been trail blazers,” said Geiger. “When President Obama initiated the Better Buildings Challenge, we thought California firms could go further with the California Best Buildings Challenge. In the lead up to Greenbuild coming to its birthplace San Francisco, these firms are stepping up to pursue aggressive environmental goals in a landmark accelerated time frame - and most importantly, to inspire others to do the same.”

Selected by the Clinton Global Initiative America as an exemplary initiative, President Clinton kicked off the Challenge last June and remarked: “This [Challenge] is a huge deal. It’s a lay down economically. It’s a lay down in the fight against climate change. And in our fight to become both more energy efficient and energy independent.”

Rick Fedrizzi recalled the conversations he and USGBC Co-Founder David Gottfried had in USGBC’s early days, and illustrated the proverbial “business plan on a napkin”:

Step 1: Create New Industry
Step 2: Improve Lives
Step 3: Change the World
Step 4: Go out of Business!!!

Hard to imagine that the vision scribbled on this cocktail napkin grew to a worldwide organization with over 14,000 member organizations and 162,000 LEED professionals strong in less than two decades!

Over 15 media sources picked up on the event and announcement, including: EDC, Eco-Structure, Inside Bay Area, San Francisco Business Times, Sustainable Industries, and The Registry.

The Challenge will continue to consider new partners through Janruary 11th, 2013. For more information visit www.usgbc-ncc.org/bestbuildings or contact ashleigh@usgbc-ncc.org.