

The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti
Charlie Cichetti
Do green buildings matter to you? This podcast fuels your fire with inspiring interviews from industry and nonprofit leaders across the built environment.
Not sure if green building matters? Listen to the personal stories of our guests and let Charlie's passion help convince you why green buildings are essential to our shared future.
Each episode illustrates a unique journey through sustainability and towards resilience. Charlie explores the challenges and celebrations of the movers and shakers in the green building industry.
Hear behind the scene stories from the inner world of green and healthy building design, construction, and management.
Not sure if green building matters? Listen to the personal stories of our guests and let Charlie's passion help convince you why green buildings are essential to our shared future.
Each episode illustrates a unique journey through sustainability and towards resilience. Charlie explores the challenges and celebrations of the movers and shakers in the green building industry.
Hear behind the scene stories from the inner world of green and healthy building design, construction, and management.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 19, 2020 • 46min
Sustainability in New Mexico with Noreen Richards
Noreen is a Principal Architect, LEED Fellow, and LEED AP BD+C with Verdacity, LLC. She has extensive experience in coordinating and integrating building systems, regulatory and programmatic requirements, and other criteria to support performance, efficiency, and health. Her expertise in green building project management, green criteria for rating systems, energy analysis, and developing strategies for meeting high-performance benchmarks provides a solid foundation for working with clients to achieve their goals. Additionally, Noreen was a facilitator in the implementation of State of New Mexico Executive Green Building Executive Order and served as faculty at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning developing and teaching sustainability curriculum. Show Highlights Noreen's journey from New York to New Mexico How Noreen's work as an artist influenced her career in green building Driving professors crazy and sticking to your path The one assignment that had a profound impact on Noreen People experimenting with green building in New Mexico Full Transcript (available on here and on the GBES website) Show Resources Noreen on LinkedIn Little Book of Hygge How Buildings Learn The Clock of the Long Now 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 © 2020 GBES

Feb 12, 2020 • 37min
Sustainability in the Country of Turkey with Emre Ilicali
Emre is from Istanbul, Turkey. After graduating from Bogazici University Civil Engineering Department, Emre completed Master of Science program in Engineering Management at University of New Orleans in He also has M.A. degrees in Financial Economics and Statistics. He is currently working on his Ph.D. Dissertation and he is a part-time faculty in Istanbul Technical University, Department of Architecture-Construction Sciences program. Emre has 14 years of experience working in several sectors, including Construction, Real Estate, Transportation and Sustainability Services as an engineer, project manager and consultant. Through his professional life, he has been involved in many projects located in different countries including Turkey, Hungary, Jordan, Mozambique, Djibouti, Uganda, UAE, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhistan and USA. In 2008, he founded Altensis, the leading company in Turkey, specialized in Sustainability Management and Engineering services. Since then, Altensis has been providing consultancy and project management services for Green Building Certification, Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy applications in the built environment. By the end of 2019, Emre and his team completed more than 200 Green Building Projects in several countries. As managing partner of Altensis , he received the leading solution provider award in GreenBuild Europe 2018. Mr. Ilicali is a LEED Fellow, LEED AP, LEED for Homes Green Rater, BREEAM International Assessor, and IFC Edge Auditor. He is also an accredited Real Estate Appraiser. He is the Education Coordinator of Altensis, developing Green Building and Energy Efficiency Expert Training programs for interested parties. Show Highlights Leading the green building movement in Turkey The value of LEED certification Differences in LEED and BREEAM projects Why office buildings and high rise residential properties are going LEED The pros and cons of green building projects in developing countries Show Resources Emre on 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 © 2020 GBES

Feb 5, 2020 • 35min
50 LEED Platinum Apartments with Jeremy Knoll
Jeremy is a designer with a deep passion for sustainable building, social equity, and service-learning. As a Project Manager with BNIM, he completed the Bancroft School Apartments, a Kansas City development of 50 LEED Platinum affordable apartment units with a large community-center, built based on a public interest design process with the local Neighborhood Association. He has built on the lessons from this and other projects to transform the architecture industry through developing a network and standards of practice for Public Interest Design, a system which prioritizes community vision. Through his volunteer leadership with Historic Green and the US Green Building Council, he has helped residents throughout Kansas City and New Orleans to improve the efficiency of their homes while training hundreds of professional and student volunteers in hands-on preservation and sustainability techniques. Specialties: LEED certification system, Public Interest Design, LEED Online, Revit, Sketchup, Microsoft Suite (Word, Xcel, Powerpoint, etc), Photoshop, Acrobat, and many other programs. Show Highlights Living abroad and learning about sustainability The importance of finding your passions in the industry No matter where you are around the world, we are experiencing similar problems Jeremy's green building journey and starting a recycling program within his company What Jeremy learned working in the lower 9th ward of New Orleans Show Resources Jeremy on LinkedIn Seveneves Aretemis Pushing Ice 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 © 2020 GBES

Jan 29, 2020 • 26min
Austin Energy's Sarah Talkington
Today's episode features Sarah Talkington of Austin Energy. Sarah is a Texas native and has been a part of Austin Energy for over 13 years. She is a green building and energy expert and a recently minted LEED Fellow! Austin Energy offers year-round rebates and incentives to help offset the cost of making energy-efficiency improvements to homes or businesses in the Austin, TX area. Sarah Talkington manages the Commercial Austin Energy Green Building team. In this position, Sarah coordinates with local developers, owners, design teams and other building professionals to find best practice, sustainable design & construction solutions for Austin. She is responsible for the development and adoption of the Commercial Energy Code for the City of Austin. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the United States Green Building Council's Technical Committee. You can learn more about Sarah on LinkedIn. 3 Reasons to Listen Moments that reminded Sarah she was on the right path Her experience working on the Dell Children's Hospital project A new way to think about energy management: the Power Partner Thermostat Program Full Transcript (available on website) Show Resources The Overstory Nudge 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 © 2020 GBES

Jan 22, 2020 • 34min
India's Green Building Progress with Deepa Sathiaram
Today's episode features an interview with LEED Fellow Deepa Sathiaram. Deepa is a leading international green building, HVAC, and building systems design professional. Deepa has been named as one of "India's Top 15 Nature's Keepers" for actively spearheading India's green building movement. She was in the early USGBC LEED Fellow Class of 2013, and also is recognized as an India GBC Fellow and WELL Faculty. She founded En3 which has operations in the U.S., India, the Middle East, and Africa. Her work includes 600+ green buildings covering over 250 million square feet of green projects worldwide. Her work includes many industry firsts including one of India's 1st Net-Zero Energy Buildings, 1st carbon-neutral organization and India's 1st carbon-neutral construction project. You can learn more about Deepa on LinkedIn. 3 Reasons to Listen Deepa transcended gender bias in the engineering field Sustainability in India and regional hurdles Innovating in energy efficiency and sustainability Full Transcript (available on website) 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 © 2020 GBES

Jan 15, 2020 • 27min
Sustainability Leadership Within 87,000 Employee AECOM with Kim Lombard
Today's episode features Kim Lombard. Kim's adaptability has allowed her to be part of a variety of project types which include education, healthcare, commercial, and federal. She has had a professional focus on sustainability and creating green buildings. She has developed an interest in how suitability of the built environment can affect the purpose for which projects are built. Kim sees projects through from scorecard development to the award of the LEED plaque. Her fluency with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system and its many version has positioned her as a subject matter expert. 3 Reasons to Listen Kim's roots regarding sustainability How to maximize what you learn from a project Projects tackling sea level rising Full Transcript (available on website) Show Resources Palladian Days Kim on 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 © 2020 GBES

Jan 8, 2020 • 32min
Founding Partner at 7group, John Boecker
About the Episode In today's episode we are joined by John Boecker. He is a green building expert with over 20 years of experience in the industry. John will be helping us understand some important things regarding green building and regenerative practice. He will also share with us his journey to becoming a green building expert. Stay tuned to learn more. Key Talking Points Getting to know John Boecker John's first green building project John's turning point in his career Who does John consider a mentor in his life? Cool accomplishments in John's career Getting to know the Seven Group better Understanding regenerative design better What is John best at? What John wishes he had known earlier in his green building career Key Milestones of the Episode [01:42] Getting to know John [02:44] John's first green building at the Department of Environmental Protection [04:14] The call that made a difference in John's career [06:03] What did John train in? [10:02] John's mentors [11:24] John's cool achievement [12:11] Getting to know the Seven Group better [16:29] What's it going to take for some more significant breakthroughs with regenerative design? [18:03] Importance of collaboration [20:48] John's gift [23:50] On the bucket list [26:50] A must-read book [28:40] What John wishes he knew earlier in his career Key Quotes from the Episode "What is it that you need to develop so that you can express your unique voice and think bigger about the contribution you're being called to make?" "Life is about asking the right questions." "There's nothing new. It's just rethinking how to put it back together again and express it in each individual case differently." "We can either hold that and sell it or give it away, and we made a choice to give it away." "The real value of that book was helping us clarify how we want it to work and then share that with others." "Look, to see, to remember." Key Resources The Overstory- by Richard Powers Carol Sanford's books Learn More about John Boecker John is a green building expert and one of the founders of Seven Group. His specialties include Green Building Architect and LEED, Integrative Design, and Regenerative Development Consulting. 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

Jan 1, 2020 • 21min
Happy New Year & What I've learned in 100 episodes!
Today's episode is a special one with Charlie Cichetti. Charlie shares a high-level summary of what he's learned over the last 100 shows. And a big THANK YOU for being a regular listener of the podcast and HAPPY NEW YEAR 3 Reasons to Listen Why right now is a great time to join the green building movement The importance of hope Career advice for those new to green building Full Transcript (available on the website) Show Resources Join our community Use the code "GBMPODCAST" for $100 off Tier 1 membership Use the code "GBMPODCAST2" for $200 off Tier 2 membership Book recommendations from the podcast 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 © 2020 GBES

Dec 18, 2019 • 33min
Solutions for Meaningful Results with Alan Scott
About the Episode In this episode, we have Green Building professional Alan Scott. We will talk about the early days in Philadelphia and the early days with the living building challenge. Alan is a successful leader and works with many groups of individuals in the green building and sustainable sector striving for meaningful results. Tune in to this episode to hear more about Alan's journey. Key Talking Points Getting to know Alan Living in Oregon Alan's journey in Architecture Sustainability of Green building movement Alan's special gift Routines and Rituals Career Advice and word of encouragement Key Milestones of the Episode [01:19] Introduction of Alan Scott [03:19] Starting career in Architect [05:22] Aha moments [08:24] Career at Green movement [10:15] Finding Team members [14:08] Alan's Projects [19:27] Importance of Resilience [23:27] Alan's specialty [24:38] Alan's rituals and routines for success [25:49] Alan's bucket list [29:37] Alan's Wish in Career [30:25] Words of Encouragement for new fellows Key Quotes from the Episode "When I talk about something I care about that really gets me out there and doing things on a timeline". "My superpower is empathy and that actually grew out of my introversion." "I connect at a deeper level with the people around me." "I'm an early riser even before the birds in the morning without an alarm clock and I treasure that for quiet time". "I wish somebody had pushed me earlier to not play it safe and be bold and take chances and do it with humility and clarity of attention." "Stay open to possibility." Key Resources Leadership: in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital by Kimberly Clausing Learn More about Alan Scott Alan is an experienced leader, strategist, architect and consultant, successful at guiding teams to create and maintain high performance buildings and sustainable built environments. In a world of specialists, a conductor, orchestrating the vital talents of technical experts to lead teams in concert toward ideal solutions and meaningful results for clients. Skilled facilitator and teacher, engaging groups and individuals in professional development, goal setting and problem solving activities. 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

Dec 11, 2019 • 41min
Advocating for Green Building and Social Sustainability Adaption with Robert Phinney
About the Episode In this episode, we talked to Green Building Professional Robert Phinney. Robert is an architect specializing in creativity and sustainability. In this episode, we talk about his journey to green building and sustainability. Robert talks about his passion for creativity and what he does at the DLR group. He also talks about his turning point after learning about sustainability and the importance of the environment in design. Stay tuned to learn more about Robert's journey. Key Talking Points Getting to know Robert Joining the Sustainability building and mentor Robert mentors Building a career in sustainability Robert's proudest achievements and working at DLR group Roberts secrets to success About the Sustainability/Green building movement. Defining resiliency and explaining why people fail to adopt social sustainability. Robert's specialty and words of encouragement Key Milestones of the Episode [00:58] Robert's career background [04:39] Joining the sustainability architect design [06:29] Robert mentors [07:48] Building a career in sustainability [11:34] Robert's proudest achievements [13:34] Working at DLR group [15:59] Roberts secrets to success [20:09] About the Sustainability/Green building movement. [24:39] Defining resiliency [28:59] Explaining why people fail to adopt social sustainability. [32:21] Robert's specialty [38:13] Robert's words of encouragement Key Quotes from the Episode "I think there's a lot of opportunities to influence large scale change here and it seemed to work out that way." "How I can help the younger professionals coming up is that I've made all the mistakes. I've tried all the things and see what works, what doesn't work, what needed to shift." "You succeed most when you have failed the most." "When you are trying to create a new process or advocate for getting design professionals, whether it's architects, engineers, planners, interiors, folks do something a different way." "You can't have environmental responsibility without having social and economic responsibility as well." Key Resources Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Learn More about Robert Phinney Robert was born in Northern Virginia. He had a passion for creativity. Robert pursued his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Virginia and State University of North Carolina respectively. He started his sustainability career when in his graduate program. Currently, Robert practices sustainability consultancy at the DLR group where he advocates for Green building and social sustainability adaption. 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


