Hosted by the Pacific Region Communities of the US Green Building Council, GreenerBuilder is a one-day conference and expo for green building professionals. The annual event unites all of the key players in greening the Pacific Region’s built environment—including architects, engineers and contractors—to discuss industry trends, new research and emerging technologies. GreenerBuilder is where you can get the strategies and tools to help create a more sustainable future in the region.
Share your knowledge as a session speaker at GreenerBuilder 2020! The USGBC Pacific Region is now accepting session proposals from experienced professionals in green building design, construction, engineering, operations, technology and community impact.
Explore the Call for Proposals Guide to learn more about the submission requirements and process. Final proposals can be submitted to the GreenerBuilder 2020 Call for Proposals form.
Applications are due by Monday, February 17, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Be inspired by our speakers. Past speakers include Paul Hawken, writer, sustainability entrepreneur and Executive Director of Regeneration, and Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC.
Build business relationships that last beyond the conference at our special networking events. Companies previously represented at GreenerBuilder include Salesforce, Oracle, HP, Adobe and Gensler. See our past session speakers.
GreenerBuilder attendees can earn continuing education (CE) hours to help maintain their LEED professional credentials.
Take your green building project to the next level. Our expo floor will feature today's leading green building products and services in California.
View Our 2019 Speakers
President and CEO
U.S. Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc.
Women in Green is an interactive event that features discussions on the topics facing women around the world. This year's theme, Culture of Courage, celebrates the crucially needed and deliberate voice that women bring to society and to the green building movement.
Microsoft
Whole Foods
LEED, AP, PE, MBA
Hewlett-Packard
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
California Energy Commission
Salesforce
Integral Group
City of Hayward
US Resiliency Council
EDF Renewables
LEED AP BD+C, ENV SP, STP
Brightworks Sustainability
Field Paoli Architects
View Our 2019 Schedule/Sessions
8:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Registration
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Opening Plenary
10:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break in Expo Hall
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Carbon: Making the Invisible Actionable
Decarbonization Track
Robyn Eason / Jessica Loeper / Gautami Palanki
70 kg/m2 CO2 emissions: What does that mean? Is it good, bad or average? How does it compare to others around the world? Where does environmental and financial performance intersect? How do I engage building occupants in lowering emissions? Emissions anywhere impact people everywhere. To help answer the questions above and share impactful strategies for climate action, this session brings together California based sustainability experts that track, manage and report on carbon across portfolios. The session will describe the organizations' philosophies, sustainability initiatives and tools used, including the score in the Arc platform.
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
A User’s Guide to the New Material Marketplace
Materials & Waste Track
Melanie Lowe / Alex Setmajer
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C; LEED Specific: ID+C
Many companies want to choose more sustainable products for their buildings, but lose steam trying to understand and navigate the complex landscape of certifications, labels and lists of chemicals to avoid. With years of experience on this challenging journey, global CRM leader Salesforce is releasing their Healthy Materials Manual to the public to act as a road map for this increasingly-specialized subject.
Salesforce Tower in San Francisco is LEED Core and Shell Platinum Certified and on track to be the highest-rated LEED v4 for Commercial Interiors (CI) Platinum project in the United States. Using Salesforce Tower as an initial testing ground, the company is now rolling out their Healthy Materials Program to their global real estate portfolio from New York to New Zealand.
The program evaluates a product’s ingredients, transparency, environmental and social attributes, as well as understand how they contribute to rating systems like LEED v4. It enables Salesforce to work with their partners and manufacturers to optimize products for health and sustainability before they are integrated into the Salesforce Global Ohana Design Standard.
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Success Distilled: Key Factors for Successful Real Estate Sustainability Programs
Owner's Perspective Track
Devon Bertram / Mary Curtiss
Planning or evaluating a sustainability program for your real estate is a critical (but daunting) task. This session will first present new, original research gleaned from a collaborative study of 20+ leading companies across North America. The research demonstrates that there are just a few key factors that overwhelmingly impact sustainability program outcomes at different stages – design, implementation, and management. As a leader in sustainability across a range of programs and initiatives, Hewlett-Packard (HP) will share their experience in crafting, implementing, and improving their sustainable real estate program. In addition to presenting research and on the ground experience, the session will include an interactive exercise allowing participants to apply the research findings to their own challenges in designing, implementing, and managing sustainability programs.
11:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Refreshment Break in Expo Hall
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Materials Specifications and the Oft Ignored Time Value of Carbon
Decarbonization Track
Mikhail Davis / Kirsten Ritchie / Stacy H. Smedley
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C; LEED Specific: ID+C; LEED Specific: O+M
The building sector is the world’s single largest emitter of Green House Gases (GHGs), accounting for 30-40% of total global GHG emissions. Although operational emissions account for more of a building's carbon footprint over its entire life, between now and 2030, almost 75% of the carbon footprint of that 900 B ft2 will be embodied carbon, NOT operational emissions. Building products can reduce their carbon footprint and even become carbon sinks that help remove excess greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Live Learn LEED: Civic Leadership on ZNE in Hayward
Resilience & Adaptation Track
Catherine (Jimmy) O'Hare / Erik Pearson / Scott Salge
Local governments were early leaders in adopting LEED and the City of Hayward has taken that leadership to the next level with its new Library, tracking LEED Platinum and targeting ZNE. This session will explore how to achieve such high levels of performance on a complex public sector project with a diverse and community-serving user focus. The project includes all-electric design, radiant slab conditioning, rainwater reuse, and optimized daylighting among other innovative strategies.
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
The Whole Picture: LEED, WELL, Zero and Beyond at Whole Foods
Owner's Perspective Track
Tristam Coffin / Nicole Crone / Christen Soares
Rating System: LEED Specific: ID+C; LEED Specific: WELL
This session explore the innovative solutions for the Whole Foods Sunnyvale store, pursuing LEED, WELL, and Zero Net Energy. This project provides a model for retail and for groceries, two sectors that historically have not been at the forefront of sustainability and green building. The design team incorporate health, resilience, energy, graywater, and many other strategies to provide an integrated solution. The project mostly eliminated onsite fossil fuel use onsite and leveraged natural refrigerants in ways that could provide an example to the entire industry.
12:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Networking Lunch
12:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Women in Green Luncheon Sponsored by Hensel Phelps
Elaine Aye
Maya Henderson / Melanie Islam / Katie Ross / Robyn Vettraino
In recent times, women leaders are re-affirming the call and standing for a Culture of Courage more powerful than ever before. Today, women aren’t begging to be heard, or even demanding it, but are simply expecting it. And this deliberate expectation overshadows fear; women are speaking up, women who are bringing attention to injustice, women are supporting each other and not taking “no” or “not right now” for an answer.
The 2019 USGBC Women in Green platform theme, Culture of Courage, celebrates the crucially needed and deliberate voice that women bring to society and to the green building movement.
Spiritual Activist and Author Marianne Williamson once said that, “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.” It takes a Culture of Courage to stand firm as women and continue to fight for what is right – equality and equity with positions at the top and voices at the table. This means more female seats in the boardroom, closing the gender gap in elected positions, more women leaders in high-ranking STEM jobs, accessible and affordable maternity and child care and higher expectations of society as a whole to get its act together.
Together, women need to continue to act, be a connector and support each other because as Williamson said, when we “let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Join us at Women in Green to celebrate the Culture of Courage that will define the future for women all over the world.
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
How Fracked is Your Building
Decarbonization Track
Panama Bartholomy / Christopher Meyer
California is going through one of its most seismic shifts in building energy policy and design. The move towards full decarbonization of the building stock has started and the policy, technical and financial implications are being developed under our feet. Come hear from thought leaders working on the policies, programs and projects leading this shift. A panel of market leaders will discuss where we are, where we are going and what it means for you.
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
Deploying Onsite Water Reuse in California and Nationwide
Resilience & Adaptation Track
Kathleen Hetrick / Paula Kehoe / Kyle Pickett
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C; LEED Specific: ID+C
This session will focus on the drivers, practicable understanding, and resources for design and monitoring of onsite non-potable water systems in California. We will present innovative onsite water reuse case studies at projects in San Francisco and in Santa Monica and how they relate Water Efficiency credits in LEED v4.1 and LEED Zero, and the Living Building Challenge Water Petal. Additionally, this session will present the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems. Content includes an exploration of the risk-based approach used to develop treatment requirements and monitoring approaches. Content also includes updates on significant policy advancements to create consistent regulations for decentralized systems across the country. The session will also cover the National Blue Ribbon Commission's soon to be released guidance manual and training materials, which teaches designers, developers, operators, and regulators the knowledge and skills to safely implement decentralized water systems.
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
Battery Energy Storage – The Evolving Landscape of LEED, Sustainability, Permitting, and Business Models
Owner's Perspective Track
Amanda von Almen / Michael Robinson, Sr. / Russell Carr
California Utility rates are about to go through the largest change since the creation of Time of Use rates. As a result, a new set of facilities will have the opportunity to leverage battery energy storage solutions to effectively for manage demand and reduce utility energy costs. The presentation will detail the changes in the market and provide a case study of how an office space can leverage storage to reduce demand charges. The presentation concludes with example business models to deploy storage and how to identify if a facility is a good potential fit for storage.
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
The Future of USGBC
TalentFX Track
Mahesh Ramanujam
A one-on-one discussion between Mahesh Ramanujam, emerging professionals, and students.
Join USGBC President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam for a conversation about the future of the green building community. Ramanujam will discuss USGBC and GBCI’s global vision and provide insights into the future direction of LEED. He will also discuss the Living Standard campaign, which builds upon USGBC’s existing world-class certification programs and works to ensure every person on the planet has access to a better, more sustainable quality of life, and a higher standard of living. Ramanujam will facilitate a discussion with emerging professionals, students and conference attendees to listen to their stories and solicit their ideas and inputs. Come share your insights on the priorities obstacles and trends you’re facing and join the community that’s building a better future.
This session is designed for emerging professionals, students, and scholarship recipients as part of TalentFX. However, regular conference attendees may join if there is capacity.
3:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Refreshment Break in Expo Hall
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
California's Road to Zero
Decarbonization Track
John Andary / Dan Burgoyne / David Kaneda
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C; LEED Specific: O+M
Learn steps California is taking toward Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon buildings, what is driving this, and what does getting to a Net Zero building entail. Learn how this is achievable for new and existing buildings, occupied and unoccupied buildings, and methods of renewable energy procurement costing less instead of more. Learn about obstacles to electrification and Zero Net Carbon, and how these can be overcome. Hear about case studies of Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon buildings and how they overcame obstacles.
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
General Contractors Breaking Barriers
Materials & Waste Track
Emi LaFountain / Kimberly Loscher / Vandita Mudgal / Jenelle Shapiro
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C
How can contractors lead LEED? This session provides the contractor’s perspective on ways to move the needle and transform traditional design and construction practices. The presenters will share what some of the largest contractors in the US are doing to push the envelope on LEED and green construction.
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Creating Resilient Design and Operations in an Era of Climate Change
Resilience & Adaptation Track
Elaine Aye / Evan Reis
Rating System: LEED Specific: BD+C
Resiliency has become an urgent issue for designers, owners and managers responsible for the safekeeping of their buildings and the wellbeing of occupants. This session provides an overview of future climate forecasting models and a climate resilience assessment tool for identifying areas of vulnerability to changing climate conditions. Strategies to incorporate into building design from an operational perspective, with regards to building systems, education, resilient systems, resourcefulness, recovery and adaptability will be discussed.
4:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Break
4:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Awards Ceremony & Closing Remarks
5:15 – 6:00 p.m.
Evening Reception
GreenerBuilder provides an unmatched opportunity for your company to engage with green building industry leaders on the West Coast.
Sponsorship and Exhibitor Prospectus coming soon.
View Our 2019 Exhibitors
View Our 2019 Partners
AIA Orange County
AIA San Francisco
ASHRAE Sacramento
ASLA Northern California
ASLA Orange County
ASLA San Diego
Cradle to Cradle
CREW Silicon Valley
German American Chamber of Commerce
Green Sports Alliance
Prospect Silicon Valley
Sustain SoCal
Sustainable Silicon Valley
ULI Orange County
ULI Northwest
ULI San Francisco
USGBC Los Angeles
Verdical Group
William J Worthen Foundation
Sustainability is the foundation of GreenerBuilder. The GreenerBuilder sustainability program addresses environmental impact through seven objectives:
Learn More About Doing Your Part
There are a few simple things attendees, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors can do to reduce your impact and create a more sustainable conference experience:
Have other ideas on sustainable habits? Share them with us on Twitter @USGBCNCC with the hashtag #GreenerBuilder19