Green design experts share how to set and achieve measurable goals

Sustainable design experts from CH2M, Intel, Colgate-Palmolive, and Starbucks shared insights on how companies can set meaningful green design goals at the world’s largest green building conference, Greenbuild, in Washington, DC on November 19. Green design has become more widely accepted as owners become aware of the benefits it offers to large, energy-intensive structures.

In “Evolution of Green Building Goal Setting for Corporations,” Ozzie Gonzalez, global sustainability director for CH2M’s Industrial & Advanced Technology group, shared CH2M’s approach to defining and guiding individual green building goals. As Gonzalez explains, “Every project we design is an opportunity to go beyond delivering a quality project. It’s also a chance to redefine the many dimensions of quality that we can bring to our clients’ buildings and help establish higher building performance standards for their entire company.”

Sharing four case studies, the panelists explained how their companies overcame obstacles to meet their goals. They also related to the sold-out crowd of 200 how companies reap economic, environmental, and customer relations benefits by committing to goals with measurable results. Greenbuild, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), deemed this session important enough to videotape it as part of its “Special Set” series.

Green building is a passion for Gonzalez, who leads CH2M in helping companies plan and implement successful and economical green building strategies. Designing hundreds of green buildings and completing more than 200 green infrastructure projects across the world, CH2M walks its sustainability talk by continuously reducing its own resource consumption to meet a 25% carbon emission reduction goal by 2017. CH2M is one of a handful of companies that founded the USGBC’s “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) User Group: Industrial Facilities” to promote green design of industrial buildings. This group was instrumental in creating a new version of the USGBC’s LEED green building certification program that is more conducive to large industrial facilities.

Greenbuild, one of the world’s most prominent green building forums, brings together 20,000 design and construction professionals from around the world each year. CH2M is glad for the opportunity to help others achieve the kind of sustainable design vision exemplified in its own company.