The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has named the recipients of its 2008 Leadership Awards.  The awards recognize companies and individuals who signify vision, leadership and commitment to the evolution of green building design and construction. The awards were presented during the Leadership Awards luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 20, during the 2008 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo being held in Boston.
 
“The organizations and individuals receiving this year's awards are among the most influential green building leaders in the country,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. “It is because of their passion and expertise and their tremendous contributions that we’ve been able to move closer toward our mission of transforming the built environment.” The 2008 Leadership Awards recognize achievements in six categories including Community, Education, LEED, Organizational Excellence, Research and Advocacy. This year USGBC also bestowed a special President’s award, given in acknowledgement of a distinguished career and exceptional contributions to the green building movement.

This year’s President’s award went to  Alexander “Andy” Karsner, Assistant Secretary to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy for his efforts to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy information and applications to a broad and diverse audience throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Throughout his tenure at DOE, Karsner pushed to ensure that building efficiency best practices were clearly documented, easily accessible to the general public and applied to federal buildings, laboratories, military bases and beyond, while rallying to ensure that all new building construction and renovations designed in 2009 would meet the LEED Gold level of certification.  
 
In the Community category the San Diego Gas & Electric’s Sustainable Communities Program received the award for its progressive approach to the utility model to encourage sustainable development in the San Diego region.  The program, launched in 2004, works with developers, designers, municipalities and school districts to encourage green building practices and to incorporate clean on-site energy generation. The program has become a model for utility sustainable community programs in California.
 
Executive Editor of Environmental Building News, Alex Wilson, received the award in the Education category.  For more than 25 years, Wilson has been bringing unbiased, reliable information, tools and resources to the building industry.  He is the author of numerous books and textbooks on sustainable building, and has written hundreds of articles for publications outside of EBN, including Popular Science and Architectural Record.  He served as the executive director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and on the board of directors for the USGBC, and is currently a trustee of The Nature Conservancy – Vermont Chapter.

The cost consulting firm Davis Langdon was honored in the Research category for its ongoing contributions to the market’s understanding of the cost implications of LEED. With Director Peter Morris in charge of research and Lisa Matthiessen in charge of sustainability services, the pair teamed up to develop “Understanding the Cost of Green,” a report widely regarded as changing the conversation on green costs.    
 
In the LEED category, Scot Horst received the award for his leadership as the current chairman of the LEED Steering Committee.  During Scot’s chairmanship, LEED has taken several bold steps forward, including the introduction of LEED for Core & Shell; revisions to LEED for Existing Buildings; the launch of LEED for Schools and LEED for Homes; and the evolution of the LEED rating system envisioned by LEED v3.  Outside of his leadership within USGBC, Scot is dedicated to his work in the industry as a materials consultant, and his extensive work in the cement industry and with the Climate Trust in Oregon, as well as his role as Vice President of the Athena Institute, all of which are contributing new understanding to life cycle assessment, His work informs the forward development of LEED in countless ways.
 
Two awards were given in the Organizational Excellence category –one to the founding members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE) and another to CB Richard Ellis.  The early members of the AIA COTE planted the seeds for the founding of the USGBC, and many went on to play significant roles in the leadership of the USGBC and the creation of LEED.  The COTE put together the Environmental Resources Guide, the first comprehensive look at green design and lifecycle assessment of building materials, and developed the first national design award for green building – the AIA Top Ten.  The award continues to be a benchmark in sustainable design for innovative architects.
 
CB Richard Ellis received the award for its leadership in corporate responsibility as the first major real estate services firm to announce its pledge to become carbon neutral by 2010.  As the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, CBRE directly manages and advises more than 1.9 billion square feet of property and corporate facilities globally, which presents a unique ability to impact the way the built environment is constructed and operated. Its commitment to reducing the impact of the built environment is evidenced by the many programs and achievements in sustainability the firm has initiated in the past year and a half, and will continue to develop in the future.
 
In the Advocacy category, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland received the award in recognition of the strong example of sustainability he has set forth for schools across the nation.  Under his leadership, the state of Ohio passed legislation in 2007 requiring that all new public schools achieve LEED Silver certification, with registration and certification fees, as well as any incremental costs paid for entirely by the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission. Over the next 40 years, these green school projects will save Ohio taxpayers $1.4 billion in energy savings alone. Governor Strickland’s commitment to green schools demonstrates his dedication to education and the vision of bringing green schools to every child within a generation.
 
Founding Members of AIA COTE 1990-1991
Robert J. Berkebile, AIA, Chair, 1990 - 1992
Paul Bierman-Lytle, AIA
Gregory Franta, FAIA, Chair, 1994
Kirk Gastinger, FAIA Chair, 1993
Harry T. Gordon, FAIA, Chair 1995
Hal Levin
Frederick P. Lyman, III, FAIA
William A. McDonough, FAIA
Christopher B. Stafford, AIA
Kelly French Vresilovic, AIA 
 
AIA COTE KEY CONTRIBUTORS 1990 - 1994
Gregg D. Ander, FAIA 
Lesley Brown, AIA  
Randall R. Croxton, FAIA  
Pliny Fisk, III 
David Hirzel, Sasaki Associates 
Patrick J. Lally, 1993 Director
Gail Ann Lindsey, FAIA   
Donald R. Watson, FAIA 
William M. Brown, AIA, LEED AP, AIAS representative, 1993 – 1994
Doug Greenwood, AIA staff during founding years
Carl Costello, AIA staff during founding years