Google's Mary Davidge Talks Sustainability Changes in Silicon Valley Over the Years

About this Episode In this episode, we talk about the intersection of technology and "going green" with Mary Davidge who is Google's Director of Real Estate and Workplace Services. Mary shares her journey from growing up on a California ranch, and then to leading foundation-building work with Google. She also shares why she got into the sustainability movement and why she is extremely optimistic about the next generation of green professionals that are entering the industry. Key Talking Points Mary's journey from a fifth-generation Californian Art major to working with the largest tech companies in the world Early influences and mentors that led Mary to her career in sustainability How to balance internal sustainability demands with external certification What's the future of sustainability? Three perspective-shifting books you have to read Key Milestones of the Episode [1:42] The start of Mary's journey [2:39] The "Aha moment" that moved Mary into sustainability [5:01] Having Google as your first client [8:30] A look at some of Google's sustainability projects [12:40 Creating your own certification vs following the industry [16:49] Future of Sustainability [19:10] What do you think is your impact on the green building industry? [20:50] Tips for staying focused [23:00] Favorite books Key Quotes "I started as an Art major...but I quickly shifted to industrial and interior design." "I am proud to be a LEED fellow." "I'm hopeful that we're smart enough...that we begin to look at this as a system." "My greatest talent is hiring people smarter than me, helping them to work well together, and then getting out of their way/" Key Resources Portico, the Healthy Materials Tool Biophilic Design Initiative Indoor Environmental Quality (Google's Green, Clean & Mean site) Living Building Challenge and "Petals" Healthy Building Network Other Resources William McDonough Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness Connect with Mary Davidge Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram 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 www.gbes.com/join 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 iTunes. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast! Copyright © 2019 GBES