The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti

Charlie Cichetti, CEO, LEED Fellow and WELL AP, is one of the leaders in the green building industry. He’s built a career around green building services/education/and technology, and has co-founded multiple companies that hold sustainability leadership as core values. His career has evolved from a strong construction background, to real estate, to early LEED expertise, to starting his own business, to buying a business, and now to co-founding two technology companies - all in the built environment. ESG | Decarbonization | ClimateTech | EdTech | LEED Charlie is invested in the success of the green building industry. He works with people and buildings around the world to create the highest level of sustainability possible. Show Highlight Current Trends and a glimpse to the future for programs and rating systems around resiliency for the industry. The Past 10 Episodes you should check out * Episode 298: Alvis Yuen, head of ESG Real Estate for Bain Capital. * Episode 297: Silas Mahner with NextWave to help advance the world to a cleaner future. * Episode 296: Keith Fine the Principal at SLAM for an in depth conversation on innovation and AI. * Episode 295: Tucker Perkins with PERC for a conversation on Propane Education and Research Act. * Episode 294: Isela Rosales is the Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability at Bridge Investment Group, a leading $50 billion investment portfolio. Charlie’s Playlist of 8 episodes to check out on GBES Podcast Episode 48: Maria Perez, LEED Fellow at Gensler . Episode 37: Vivian Loftus and the amazing work she's doing at Carnegie Mellon. Episode 57: A Wild Conversation with Jason Twill. Episode 172: Drew Shula, a social entrepreneur focused on building up our green building consulting firms. Episode: Emmanuel Powells, who is a living Future hero. Episode 180: Peter Templeton, the current CEO of the US Green Building Council. Episode 224: A live podcast interview in Munich, Germany last year. Episode 287: The Founding Father of LEED Rob Watson. Inspirational Projects to check out Companies are focused on climate risk and opportunities to support the CDP framework. Show Resource and Information Charlie's Podcast Playlist Inspirational Projects Cal Guerxo Show Notes Don’t forget to catch more episodes and resources for all of your green building news at the website. 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 insurances 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 © 2023 GBES

Daniel Brown works to promote public health, green spaces, wealth building, and community engagement. He has served on the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Coalition, the Cuyahoga County Next Generation Council, and the U.S. Composting Council's steering committee for community composting prior to starting Rust Belt Riders. Mr. Brown is a social entrepreneur and climate fellow. Show Highlights Learn how Rust Belt communities are fighting deindustrialization and the impacts of climate change with economic development, climate resiliency, and the re-imagination of communities. Why does the climate crisis make all other crises that much worse?  The biggest leverage and point of leverage that we can have on affecting human driven impacts on the climate. Learn more about the intersecting issues related to our food and agricultural system on both public health, air and water quality. The work Rust Belt Riders is doing work that provides  a template for how other cities and communities can affect change at a systems level to truly be the rising tide that lifts all boats.  community leaders, businesses and residents a way to reframe their waste stream as a resource stream to avoid the very worst impacts of the climate crisis. Highly dense urban areas need an alternative to landfills because they do not have the infrastructure or capacity to process all of the organic material that they ingest. Food and food systems are the building block for all and any type of circular economy.  The top three things we need to balance the push and pull of the  environmental economic equation.    “It's important to acknowledge that no one does anything on their own. Anything I've ever been able to accomplish has been because of the people whose shoulders I stood on and who were in the trenches with me. I don't think that there's any singular thing that I alone have done. But what I will say is I think that like the building of the organization that I'm here representing, Rust Belt Riders is among the most proud things that I've worked and been part of.” -Daniel Brown   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 © 2023 GBES

Alvis Yuen is an ESG and Sustainability professional with expertise in ESG reporting, building decarbonization, energy systems, sustainability policy, investor relations, strategy, and project management. He has strong analytical and scientific background, recent sustainability portfolio oversight with the largest landlord in NYC, and currently leading Bain Capital’s Real Estate ESG initiatives.    Alvis is a graduate of the City College of New York, earning his Master’s degree for Sustainability in the Urban Environment. His interest in the interaction of the environment and business interest began during his undergraduate studies at NYU where Alvis pursued dual majors in biochemistry and economics. This background allows him to understand the more technical aspects of sustainability problems as well as their economic implications. His immersion in diverse academic disciplines enabled Alvis to balance the perspectives of many stakeholders when addressing the issues of sustainability.  At the G&A Institute, Alvis analyzed hundreds of corporate sustainability reports for submission into the global GRI database. His work has been incorporated into research on corporate governance and sustainability reporting trends of S&P 500 Index companies. Alvis has also contributed to Wikirate, a global open-source database for corporate sustainability performance.   Alvis’ specific interests include: green buildings, renewable energy, transportation, and urban development. In recognition of his accomplishments, Alvis has been awarded the inaugural REBNY Sustainability Fellowship. He is also a LEED Green Associate.  Show Highlights Companies are focused on climate risk and opportunities to support the CDP framework. Bain Capital is a large, global, multiple asset investor. A general partner for investing with different funding sources Invested in real estate associated investments Whole Business Unit of Bain Capital Real Estate Pro tips for transparency to ensure you are reporting, collecting, and tailoring accurate data for your portfolios. Deciding what green best practices to use for your projects and not just chasing a certification.  Alvis shares some of the more aggressive mandates that may be coming to a city near you. Get your foot in the door with roles that are a little more narrow and specialized in the industry. Charlie and Alvis discuss the trillion dollar question in our industry.       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 © 2023 GBES

Silas Mahner  is working for NextWave to help advance the world to a cleaner future. He is passionate about Talent Attraction & Retention as well as Sustainability and the Circular Economy. At NextWave, he is helping shape the future of Talent Attraction & Retention and ESG & Sustainability. Silas is also a podcast host: “Cleantechies.”   He has three primary remits: Leading the North American ESG, CleanTech, and Sustainability Recruitment Practice Helping develop and expand our Channel Partnerships Supporting Global Marketing Strategy and Initiatives Show Highlights Career advice to help everyone navigate their green careers Learn the number one asset in business to be a good partner.  NextWave recruitment consultancy Climate tech, ESG headhunter  and certified B Corp Help companies find particular technical talent.  Serve renewables, climate and sustainability around the world. Build entire teams  working with funds, and then following the money into their portfolio companies.  There’s one principle Silas has to help the green building industry understand about their applicants and specific skill sets. Understanding the segmentation and nuanced specialties inside of companies. Tips to help you shine among other applicants to get an interview. Breaking down the nuances  and specialized future of a green building.   “If we really care about fixing the climate problem, you need to decarbonize everything, which means you have to reinvent the entire world, and everything has to be re-engineered from the beginning. It's just so exciting. Obviously there's a lot of challenges with climate change, but it's super exciting to be alive right now. So many opportunities to build companies and to just make a really big difference in the world.” -Silas Mahner 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 © 2023 GBES

Keith Fine is a Principal at SLAM and serves as the Management Lead, for the Los Angeles Studio as well as the Director of Innovation for the firm nationally. Keith combines his unique experiences including construction, technical design, leadership   passions for both design and innovation from a unique perspective. Keith approaches all challenges with a strong team-building focus that leverages the very best from those around him. Through these networked relationships and exposures, Keith has a unique skill at understanding the interconnected nature of seemingly disparate technologies and cultivating the development of new and innovative solutions.   Show Highlights   Working with progressive clients concerned about the climate. Let nature inspire and define the character of the project to bring sustainable thinking to do the greater good. SLAM focuses on bringing creativity and design to enrich lives. Innovative projects and tools to keep an eye on in the industry. Understanding how much waste you have when things are kind of brute forced out in the field. Keith shares two big themes for sustainability and the green building movement. There's not enough connected data between firms and tools to start to move it to the next level.  UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs-17) Moving towards a marketplace of digital assets with higher performance selection standards moving towards an ecosystem where you get the data upfront.   “We're kind of re-imagining how we deliver projects from stem to stern, from concept to delivery, and it's very heavy visualization based. And, it's about real-time problem solving. We've found a way to leverage our assets and build our asset library of just all the different things you'll have in a building. We're focused right now on using this on very technical projects, healthcare/labs/advanced tech…the kind of stuff where you really can virtually put people in spaces and pull up every bit of reference you need and modify it around them in real-time, and then push that straight towards a fabrication pipeline.”  -Keith Fine   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 © 2023 GBES

Tucker Perkins is the president and chief executive officer of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), an organization authorized by the U.S. Congress with passage of the Propane Education and Research Act (PERA), Public Law 104-284, signed into law on October 11, 1996.   Tucker assumed the role of PERC president and CEO when Roy Willis retired July 31, 2017, having previously served as PERC’s chief business development officer since 2012 and then as chief operating officer since December 2016.   He has worked in the propane industry for 26 years, having served as the director of business development for Inergy, chief executive officer of Premier Propane, and the chief operating officer of Columbia Propane, a unit of the Columbia Energy Group. Tucker is also the former chairman of a PERC advisory committee on engine fuel matters and is active with the National Propane Gas Association and the Virginia Propane Gas Association.    Show Highlights The most important topic in green buildings. Understanding how propane is such a different fuel and can support the demands of the industry as a fuel of the future. PERC in the Propane Education and Research Council and there are three roles they play in the industry. Solutions to address where the power gaps are and how to begin to fill them with a changing and fragile electric grid. Tucker shares innovations that will minimize our environmental footprint. Not all fossil fuels are equal. The high level difference between natural gas and propane and what is the best fuel for the environment, our health, and economy. Addressing the energy needs of a building and how to pivot to provide the best efficiency.  Where is propane needed most in infrastructure?   “We're really looking for the recipe that is the most efficient initial cost, the most efficient operating cost. But at the end of the day, it's still about minimizing our environmental footprint. It's a responsibility of all energy providers to rethink that equation. We've moved from wood to coal and coal to oil, and I would say oil to natural gas. And we're really moving from natural gas to renewable electricity, particularly in the built environment as fast as we can. And there isn't one solution. There's not one silver bullet. Renewable electricity is not the silver bullet because it'll take 40 years to build it out. And if we're not careful, we won't be able to afford the solutions nor will all the solutions be reliable. So propane [and renewable propane] will be part of the recipe.”  -Tucker Perkins  “I don't think all fossil fuels are equal. Certainly coal and oil and wood, I'd argue they're all fossil fuels. They're not nearly the same as natural gas and propane. I think those are low carbon fossil fuels and with this great combustion property. I think the last, particularly five years now have been really engaging in this conversation about what are the fuels of the future and what is good for the environment, what's good for our health, and frankly, what can we afford at the same time brings us warmth, hot food, hot showers bringing, bringing that whole conversation together.” -Tucker Perkins      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 © 2023 GBES

Isela Rosales is the Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability at Bridge Investment Group, a leading real estate investment firm. Isela is based in San Francisco, CA. Prior to joining Bridge, Ms. Rosales lived and worked in New York City for nearly a decade in the financial services sector building and managing large institutional client relationships for multiple global asset management firms.    She pursued and earned the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation in 2016 and decided to expand her financial services background from the hedge fund industry to include private real estate. She began her career at Cambridge Associates, working in Menlo Park following her graduation from Stanford University before receiving a promotion that would take her to the firm’s Boston headquarters.    Ms. Rosales received her dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and Spanish from Stanford, graduating with honors distinctions, and achieved top of her class ranking from Elsie Allen High’s first graduating Class of 1997. She is fluent in Spanish and competes in Ironman and marathon competitions in her spare time.    Isela was the first alumna to start giving back to Elsie Allen through her Ironman competitions prior to the Foundation being established. She currently serves as a Community Member on the Board. Show Highlights A platform of strategies in renewable energy ventures and in secondaries in the real estate value arena to meet where the market is heading. Where real estate meets technology with the five areas of PropTech and ESG/sustainability is one of those five.  Tips to determine what to put effort into, what's important, and  selecting frameworks, scoring systems, and which plaques to go after. Unpack the vast menu of building certifications from the smallest to the largest that exist around the world.  What you need to know about PRI and PRI Signatory to achieve important milestones. The secret to ESG with some high level tips. What to consider for your organizations employee engagement, developing  talent and supportive measures for DEI. Selecting programs that make sense for a given property type.    “The S of ESG, does not represent sustainability, it actually represents Social - you can have the most efficient building out there, but you still have to factor in the People side of the equation. I really believe that when the topic of the S comes up, it's important to look at it from two perspectives. One, as the S relates to your company, what is going on for the employees of your company. And then the S is also for your company's investments in society.” -Isela Rosales        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 © 2023 GBES

Robert Fleming is an AIA, LEED AP, NOMA, an award-winning educator, author, keynote speaker, sustainability advocate, and architect. In all his work, Rob strives to: Advocate for social equity in the built environment; Regenerate the natural world, Design beautiful places; and Bring economic viability to sustainability projects.    Rob is an educator He is the Director of Online Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design and he Is the Director of the Design Leadership Program. From 1996 to 2021, Rob served as the Founding Director and Professor for the Award-winning Master of Science in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University, where he taught hundreds of emerging sustainability professionals who have made important contributions in the world.    Rob is an author  His 4th book, Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, has become a required textbook for many college courses around the country. In all his books, Rob breaks down complex topics using straightforward language and compelling graphics, leading to a better understanding of how we can address the challenges of the climate emergency.   Rob is a speaker  He has delivered over 250 public presentations on sustainability where he brings humor, enthusiasm, inspiration and hope for a sustainable future to audiences around the world.   Rob is an advocate  Rob co-founded the Justice Alliance for Design Education which features an alliance of six universities and six non-profit organizations all working together to transform the principles and practices of design programs across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Starting in 2022, Rob will become the President-Elect of the Philadelphia AIA.    Rob is an architect Rob works with clients and design firms around the country to facilitate integrative design charrettes using co-creative, stakeholder driven design processes. In this way, built environment projects reach higher levels of sustainability and the design teams themselves develop stronger bonds through a shared sense of purpose   Show Highlights Design education has a long way to go before it begins to transform the curriculum to be authentically sustainable.  NOMA, National Organization of Minority Architects is an influential group of young emerging leaders in architecture.  Robert shares pet peeves with the building industry and how to fix them. Shifting away from mitigation into resilience to prepare for “survivability.”  The debate if Sustainability and resiliency fit under one another or they are separate. One of the greatest challenges that we face with wellness and climate change. AI framework for design excellence and how we need it to get through the challenges that we're facing in the future. Joining organizations is critical and effective to pull out the best in yourself through collaboration.      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 © 2023 GBES

Chris Kaiser is the VP of Business Operations at Sona Energy in Atlanta, GA. He’s been a student of sustainability and uses his position  to implement sustainable solutions for the clients he works with. His focus is defining, designing, and delivering clean energy solutions ranging from EV Charging, LED lighting and controls, and Solar PV & Microgrid.   Most companies today talk about the importance of sustainability, but Chris focuses on how do they actually make it happen? As a people-facing engineer, he uses his passion for minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency to help clients define and execute their sustainability goals. Creating change at an industrial level has broad, positive impacts that help him create a better Earth for his children.   Show Highlights Chris shares all things energy, decarbonization, and EV charging. The three pillars of clean energy. Legislation and incentives to fund the technology and address mandates. The breakdown and pro tips on EVcharging, the different levels and recommendations for businesses. Understand the technical realities, grid stability and what it's gonna take to balance electricity.  What is needed to move the needle in the industry to avoid greenwashing and create a more sustainable future with clean energy infrastructure. Clean energy boards and continuing to drive the clean energy space forward.  Understanding how to convince decision makers to find and address pain points. “I hear, or I see, or I read these articles with people saying, ‘Oh, until I can charge my EV at the same amount of time it takes to fill up my gas car, I'm not gonna get an EV.’ And I'm like, ‘Well that's not really a fair analysis because if you live in a single family home, you can fuel up 90% of the time you're fueling up while you're sleeping and you can't do that with your gas car.’” -Chris Kaiser    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 © 2023 GBES

Andres Prera is a LEED Fellow.  He has worked in a sustainable architecture firm in St Louis, Missouri. In 2003, he became one of the first in Latin America to gain LEED AP credentials. Upon his return to Guatemala, Andres co-founded ENVIRO. The firm specializes in green design, project management and sustainability consulting. Since 2004, Andres has worked to promote and provoke change in the building industry towards a sustainable future for the country and the region, now working in several countries. In 2006, Andres earned his Masters of Urban Management degree from the Technical University in Berlin. In 2010, a small group of professionals from different sectors in the industry got together and founded the Guatemala Green Building Council, and AndrÃes became the first president of the Guatemala GBC.   Show Highlights Green design mixing biology, nature, and architecture. Tips to show the industry it doesn’t have to be more expensive but make more sense when building in different regions.  Understanding what goes into LEED and LEED Ebom projects in the Guatemala region.  Push towards regenerative buildings,  bio chromatic design and Bioclimatic architecture.  Create great performance and sustainable buildings while being climate responsive.  The logic in having Biophilic design in every build and design.  Create value in the business and services you promote to select products that fully support a healthy living.  “The green building movement is still ongoing, it's still innovative, and it's still a great community, so it's always welcoming new people and professionals…I encourage everyone to think about climate and people. I think those two things are always there. If you're thinking about architecture and construction/development, it has to be human-centered.”  -Andres Prera   Show Resource and Information Linkedin 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 © 2023 GBES