USGBC Adds Green Building Finance Expert

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today that Dan Winters recently joined the organization as Senior Research Fellow for Business Strategy and Finance.

Winters, a 20-year veteran of real estate finance and one of the first LEED Accredited Professionals in the financial industry, is the previous recipient of the 2012 USGBC Mark Ginsberg Sustainability Fellowship. Now with USGBC as a full-time staff member, Winters will utilize his background in institutional real estate finance, alongside his capital market perspectives, to foster and strengthen the growing relationships between the green building and investment communities.


“Dan is one of the foremost minds among those who develop high-performance buildings, the commercial brokerage community and the institutional financiers who seek to incorporate sustainable properties into real estate investment portfolios,” said Chris Pyke, vice president of research, USGBC. “USGBC is fortunate to be working with Dan, who will help lead our efforts to bring Wall Street into the fold while helping institutional investors realize the benefits associated with green building ownership.”

Winters plays an important ongoing role in USGBC’s newly released Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG), a global platform for green building insights and innovation. Winters works to implement key features within GBIG while further uniting the investment community with USGBC’s existing stakeholder base. He also helped support USGBC’s efforts regarding the recently released National Academy of Sciences report that reviewed the U.S. Department of Defense’s use of green building rating systems and recommended the continued use of LEED.

“It is a tremendous honor to serve USGBC, an organization peerless in its industry leadership,” said Winters. “Developing advanced solutions such as GBIG drives market transparency, which can reduce information asymmetry and address capital market failures. Increasing engagement with the investment community allows USGBC to strengthen industry mindshare and further its mission.”


Prior to joining USGBC, Winters was founder of Evolution Partners, a real estate advisory firm specializing in the financial aspects of environmentally responsible real estate projects. He was primary author of the Green Building Financial Underwriting Standard on behalf of the Capital Markets Partnership, and he worked with North American real estate firms to maximize the financial return of their sustainability efforts.

Winters’ professional background includes tenure at Russell Investments, a world-class institutional investment advisory firm, where he served as an industry analyst in Russell’s real estate private equity group. In addition, he spent several years at CBRE’s top-producing Washington, D.C., office engaged in debt placement and underwriting for major real estate projects. He was a participant on the Washington, D.C., Green Building Task Force, which helped to pass the District’s Green Building Act of 2006, and he was previously vice chairman of the USGBC Maryland Chapter.

Winters holds a master’s degree in real estate finance and development from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree in consumer behavior and real estate from the University of Wisconsin. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development. 

USGBC Announces Leadership Awards

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the recipients of its 2012 Leadership Awards, recognizing outstanding individuals who embody the vision, leadership and commitment to the evolution of green buildings and communities as a vehicle to enhance our quality of life. The awards will be presented at the Leadership Luncheon on Nov. 15 during USGBC's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo held in San Francisco.

Tom Darden, Executive Director of Make It Right, a non-profit organization that builds sustainable homes and buildings for communities in need, received the Leadership in the NGO Sector Award. Make It Right has led the charge in redeveloping the Lower Ninth Ward with resource-efficient, durable homes after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Healthy Building Network's Tom Lent, Policy Director and Bill Walsh, Founder, each received the Leadership in Advocacy Award. Lent has advocated for the banning of arsenic-treated wood and educates on the environmental and health hazards of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), among many initiatives. Under the leadership of Walsh, Healthy Building Network has introduced new, healthier building materials into commercial markets and shifted more than $4 billion in materials purchases from toxic materials to healthier alternatives.

Steve Saunders, CEO, Texas Energy Solutions, received the Leadership in the Residential Sector Award. Texas Energy Solutions is a LEED for Homes Provider, and Saunders has done extensive work to expand and advance the LEED for Homes program. 

Nancy Cantor, Chancellor and President, Syracuse University; Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County Executive; and Stephanie A. Miner, Mayor of Syracuse each received the 2012 Global Community Leadership Award for their collective and collaborative efforts to foster substantive change across the Syracuse and Central New York landscape. Among their many projects: Cantor has elevated the mission of green building on Syracuse University's campus through numerous LEED building projects and a school-wide goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. County Executive Mahoney led the charge on the Save the Rain program for stormwater management and advocates for green roofs, among many sustainability initiatives. Mayor Miner has advocated for local green buildings and worked to create a vibrant, revitalized connective corridor in the city of Syracuse.

M. Arthur Gensler Jr., Founder, Gensler; and Donald Simon, Attorney, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, LLP received the President's Award. Founder of global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm, Gensler, M. Arthur Gensler has helped pioneer green building as a business visionary and legend of the design industry.

2012 Leadership Awards Recipients

• Leadership in the NGO Sector: Tom Darden, executive director, Make It Right Foundation
• Leadership in Advocacy: Tom Lent, policy director, Healthy Building Network; Bill Walsh, founder, Healthy Building Network
• Leadership in the Residential Sector: Steve Saunders, CEO, Texas Energy Solutions
• Global Community Leadership Award: Nancy Cantor, chancellor and president, Syracuse University; Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County executive; Stephanie A. Miner, mayor of Syracuse
• President's Award: M. Arthur Gensler Jr., founder, Gensler; Donald Simon, attorney, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, LLP.

Habitat for Humanity Home Is LEED Platinum

A home completed in Park City, Utah, by Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Wasatch Counties has been awarded LEED Platinum Certification. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) presented the homeowner and Habitat and the homeowner with a plaque certifying the platinum recognition.

 

Students from Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) building and construction program volunteered their time and expertise to help Habitat for Humanity build a home loaded with sustainable green features in Park City. The resulting LEED Platinum certification is the highest-level certification for energy efficiency and environmental design that single-family homes can receive.

Habitat for Humanity creates safe, healthy, decent, energy efficient and affordable housing to low-income families around the world. Salt Lake Community College’s building and construction program builds one or two homes each year as part of its curriculum. This particular project was unique for a Habitat for Humanity project and the college because the students’ participation in the project was written directly into the college’s curriculum.  

Three SLCC faculty members were involved working with students participating in the Habitat for Humanity project both in teaching and building. Three classes that had about 20 students each were involved with the project. College administrators plan on continuing to work with Habitat for Humanity on projects in the future.

Northern California USGBC Launches 'Best Building Challenge'

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and USGBC’s Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) will launch the California Best Buildings Challenge at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America), a meeting focused on finding solutions that promote economic recovery in the United States. President Clinton and USGBC president, CEO and founding chair, Rick Fedrizzi, will join three of the six inaugural commitment participants, Genentech, Google and Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI), on stage to announce the Challenge during the closing plenary of the popular event that draws more than 900 business, non-profit and media participants.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge and President Clinton’s pioneering work to promote sustainable buildings, the California Best Buildings Challenge consists of industry-leading firms with a strong California presence that have committed to reduce their building energy, water and waste by 20 percent in two years. Adobe, Genentech, Google, PREI, SAP and Zynga have stepped up to kick off the challenge, collectively committing 5 million square feet of building space from their portfolios.

USGBC and its Northern California Chapter are launching the California Best Buildings Challenge as a 2012 CGI America Commitment to Action and are working to inspire other companies to sign on. The commitment was selected by CGI America as an approach to addressing challenges in the clean electricity and efficiency space. The plenary will be live webcast at live.cgiamerica.org.