Talking Sustainability & Government Initiatives with GSA’s Don Horn

Don took some time off from GSA to share his knowledge with the green building community.  We have the benefit of his expertise as a LEED Fellow, FAIA and leader in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of buildings through policy and advocacy within the Federal government. As Deputy Director of GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings, Don promotes environmentally responsible decision-making for buildings, and translates green building strategies and ideals into practical solutions to meet federal goals for new construction, repair and alteration, facility management, and leasing. His professional service includes leadership roles with ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings, and present or former advisory roles in three of the primary high-performance building certification organizations in the U.S. – the U.S. Green Building Council, the Green Building Initiative, and the International Living Future Institute. His work with USGBC has included being Federal Advisor to the USGBC Board of Directors, and serving on the Government Committee, and the core committees of LEED for Commercial Interiors and LEED for Existing Buildings. Don co-led the development of the Guiding Principles for Federal High Performance and Sustainable Buildings and continues to ensure their relevance. He developed and managed GSA’s Sustainable Design Program for the Public Buildings Service. He envisioned and led the development of GSA’s Sustainable Facilities Tool and has contributed to numerous publications, including GSA’s Sustainability Matters. Don has over 29 years of experience with GSA in both sustainability and historic preservation. Before working at GSA, he worked for private sector architecture firms. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia.   Show Highlights Executive orders on “greening the government”. GSA helped to develop principles of sustainable design and implementation. GSA’s energy performance database targets a broader perspective of sustainability. Innovation and guiding principles on how to advance sustainable measuring tools. GSA’s mandates for new construction on a federal buildings. Don’s favorite projects are exemplary examples of green building at its finest.  GSA sustainable level of design awareness, programs and expectations. The ASHRAE standards and everything you need to know about 189.1.   Design standards to really advance the green building movement.  The impact  of using LCA to pick better materials for energy modeling.  The excitement the new executive orders has on changing green buildings. Critical categories that need to be included on EPD data.  “Seeking to understand people's basic values, what drives them, and what makes them truly happy, is envisioning sustainability. Sustainability really does involve ethics, values, & aspirations and seeks to bring it all together. When you can integrate that into the work you're doing it is the absolute best anyone could wish for.”  - Don Horn     Don Horn’s Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2021 GBES