Top Takeaways from Greenbuild 2022

Several SIG team members attended Greenbuild in San Francisco this year, enjoy their top takeaways and insights below.

portrait of Sengavi T.From Sengavi Thirupathy, PE
Senior Decarbonization Analyst
LEED AP

It was great to see Greenbuild in San Francisco as I believe the energy modelling community is well formed and strong here and the bay area has one of the highest decarbonization and net zero energy related real estate portfolios. The sessions were all very relevant and the running theme of decarbonization and equity and affordable housing was followed. What was interesting was that some sessions also spoke about the feasibility and government fundings that clients can take advantage of which was a great topic.

  • A lot of the decarbonization sessions closely followed the presentation that SIG had provided on recent projects. Next year would be a great opportunity for the SIG Decarbonization team to present on recent trends and work.
  • It was great to be in person and be social again. The keynotes speakers were great and overall, as much as it was a technically sound event, the socializing and networking aspect of it was also well carried out.

 

outdoor portrait of George HolzFrom George Holz, CEM
Energy Consultant

This was my first time attending Greenbuild. The week provided a great forum, not just for team building, but to also grow as a professional with networking, learning, and learning from the experience of others. It truly was a wonderful experience meeting likeminded professionals from across the globe. The sessions were very interesting and of my many takeaways, here are my highlighted notes.

  • ESG and Net Zero were at the forefront of the conference with a heavy focus in:
    • Health and safety associated with embodied carbon
    • Electrification and the Integration of Renewables and Battery Storage
    • Waste Management
  • As a professional in the built environment, it is up to us to not only make a strong effort to persist for better energy performance but also use our voice for impactful changes in policies.
  • Get involved in the Innovation and collaboration with experienced professionals with different thought processes.
    • NREL & AIA are working together on a new program to promote sustainable practices and peer teaching within the Architectural community.
    • This would influence building owners and decision makers to make net zero design strategies the norm.
  • Electric Vehicles (EV) –
    • With the emergence of EV, be on the lookout as “EV Ready” Building Codes are being considered in many jurisdictions. Be sure to check for financial assistance (utility rebates, suppliers, etc.) for new installations as equipment, electric service, may be required to be brought up to code for retrofits.
    • Terms to be aware of:
      • EV CapableParking spaces with electrical capacity for future infrastructure
      • EV ReadyParking spaces with dedicated circuits for EV charging
      • EV InstalledEV only parking spaces with fully installed charging stations
    • The advancement of charging stations to ease concerns of straining the grid:
      • Some have smart chargers that communicate with the grid and can deviate power to supply those that need it.
      • EV drivers can schedule charge times and durations in apps

 

Nikola K | Sustainable Investment Group (SIG)From Nikola Kravik
Director of Business Development – West Coast
BEMP, LEED AP

  • The highlight at Greenbuild 2022 in San Francisco was meeting our strong Green Building Holdings (GBH) and Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) Team in person, had a great time getting to know them better, listening to their personal story about GBH/SIG, business operations across modules, current needs. We discussed our bright future ahead with biggest assets-people and vision! Dinner at Sens was awesome with many previous clients meeting there or at Exploratorium afterparty (my first Zero Net Energy since 2008)!
  • This was my second Greenbuild, very successful I had my networking pass, attended 3 days and evenings and was able to make all floor expo rounds with old colleagues, former CEOs, industry peers and new potential GBH/SIG partnerships! Felt great to be among such diverse minds and previous mentors like Igor Tartakovsky (CEO, CBEngineers/Clean Tech), Kevin Hydes (Introba), Peter Rumsey (CEO, Point Energy Innovations), Phil Williams (VP, Google), Peter Templeton (President and CEO, USGBC) and many more! I finally met our green building founders and true green movement legends, Rick Fedrizzi (WELL CEO & Chairman) and David Gottfried (Founder, Blue Planet).
  • I was able to hear the 3 biggest buzz words around the conference: carbon, electrification and surprising water (as the next gold). Fires, droughts, earthquakes and other natural or pandemic disaster certainly open conversations with partners about industry shift needs, Zero Net Energy self reliant projects with battery storage and resiliency focus.