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Christine Ervin: Environmental Envoy
This "Green CEO " talks about the role of sustainability in business.

By Heidi Schwartz

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is comprised of leaders from across the building industry. Members work together to develop Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDT) products and resources, the greenbuild annual international conference and expo, policy guidance, and tools that support the adoption of sustainable building.

Christine Ervin, president and CEO of USGBC, joined the Council in April 1999. Her career spans several leadership positions in the federal, state, and nonprofit sectors. Ervin took time out of her busy schedule to speak with TFM Editor Heidi Schwartz about the state of sustainability and its role in the future of commercial buildings. The highlights of those discussions appear in the following article.

TFM: Who or what has inspired you to align yourself with green concepts?

CE: I can't remember a time when I was not interested in learning about the natural environment. Growing up in the pristine environment of Alaska probably had something to do with it.

I've always been drawn intellectually to the nexus between environment and economics. Years ago, the two were viewed as competitive goals and so much of the economics literature would focus on how to measure tradeoffs.

Today, we much better understand that a simultaneously improved economy and environment are not only possible-but essential in the long run. We can't have one without the other.

In the world of high performance green buildings, that synergy becomes more immediate and tangible.

TFM: How did you get involved in the USGBC?

CE: I first learned about this upstart new organization when I was assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the previous administration. I remember taking notice of this fledgling group that was trying to integrate the extremely diverse players in the buildings industry while creating a voluntary labeling program for green buildings.

I liked the USGBC's goals immediately. In fact, our buildings program director, Mark Ginsberg, provided some early seed money to the Council, because it was such a good example of private sector innovation. Later, the program supported field testing of the program that is now known as LEED. So I was very interested when the chair of the Council-Rick Fedrizzi with Carrier Corporation at that time-asked me to consider helping the USGBC build the organization to deliver its profound vision.

I haven't looked back since. This is a remarkable coalition of leaders accomplishing important and satisfying work.

TFM: What are your main goals for the USGBC?

CE: First and foremost, my goal is to demonstrate our model successfully. It's a new way of doing business that could have a great deal of potential for the building sector and beyond.

Another goal is to serve the growing international market. Our challenge is to be available to the growing international community. Our green building practices can be tailored to meet the needs of the cultures and economies anywhere, so countries are coming to us showing interest in adopting LEED. The trick will be tailoring it to meet their needs while maintaining our brand overseas.

Before the USGBC's LEED rating system was in place, there was really no clear definition for green, and the industry very much needed one. In fact, I've had dozens of people explain to me that the introduction of LEED made a major difference in simplifying the way they explain these concepts. This was a goal from the very beginning. The speed at which we've been able to accomplish this has exceeded our expectations-particularly during a down economy.

TFM: Has the economic slowdown had any impact on the USGBC?

CE: Three years ago (and then two years ago) we really did think membership and LEED workshop training would slow dramatically, but the opposite has been true. Membership has grown nearly eight fold in 2001 and 2002; we've gone from 300 members to 2,400 members in the past two years.

We're finally beginning to see some slowing in this rate of growth, but it's still climbing dramatically. In the first seven months of this year, we have welcomed over 1,000 new members.

We are seeing some effects from the economy among our members. Some of our member companies have had layoffs because of these tough years, so they don't have as much to spend.

Still, the growth is very strong, and many members see their positions in green buildings as a key to succeeding in a tough economic climate. This is actually one of the more interesting developments in green buildings.

Most facility managers already know how their own work contributes to employee comfort and overall quality of the work environment in addition to savings in operating costs. But concerns and challenges in this realm rarely find their way into the board room. Frankly, much of that has to do with timing and strategic packaging. Now, today's executives are beginning to view their own facilities as strategic assets and expressions of corporate values.

Tools like LEED will help people who are beginning to make the link between their own quality of life and their workplace habits. This convergence presents a great opportunity for facility managers and helps explain the reported surge of interest in greening workplace practices.

TFM: What else have you observed? Are environmental concerns deeply seeded? Or are they just a fad?

CE: One of the attractions of high performance green buildings is the number of diverse drivers. It not only has to do with energy, but also with quality of life within a community, health and productivity, and economic return. Bundle all of those concepts together, and they become very powerful sustaining drivers for what will be long-term changes in the marketplace. Because we know so much more now, it is harder to ignore the consequences of being insensitive to our environment.

But it's difficult for Americans to think in terms of proactive prevention rather than reactive resolution. Consequently, a positive, "can do" model may be the only possible path to success for America.

Part of the appeal of green buildings is that we're offering many positive things-those that people care about-in a palatable way. LEED refines the choices and simplifies the product selection process for the workplace.

Green is here to stay; it is not a fad. When you look at the subject of energy efficiency, this is an area plagued by politicizing and the price of energy. In fact, clean energy has a major role in environmental progress. It can be vulnerable to ups and downs. That has been a major problem with the energy field.

TFM: What are some of the other challenges you will face?

CE: Now the temptation is to be all things to all people, but that's a recipe for disaster. The key is focus, given the strong market interest.

Beyond that, my biggest challenge will be overcoming real and perceived notions that green costs more. Because this is a relatively new area, we're still building a body of knowledge of empirical data to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of green. We have to overcome the tendency in the facilities arena to focus much more on front end costs at the expense of so many other parameters. We would never employ that single dimension to most of our other purchases.

Part of that is an issue for leadership. CEOs must care not only for the front end costs, but they must want to optimize their investments over "X" number of years.

In addition, decision makers must look at the other attributes of their buildings and recognize the value. Take the analogy of an automobile. I don't know anyone who buys a car simply on the basis of sticker price. Customers want to know about other features and options. What's the frequency of repair? What's the brand name? How about miles per gallon, thinking of long-term costs? If we applied the same kinds of principles to marketing the performance of buildings, the cost issues change radically.

TFM: How can facility managers do more to incorporate green awareness into their strategic plans?

CE: That's where the new LEED EB product comes in. This program recognizes the importance of high performance operations and maintenance to the overall company or organization. By wrapping together a suite of enhancements dealing with landscaping, water, energy, materials, and indoor environmental quality, managers can take advantage of a tool that better captures the attention of corporate decision makers than any single issue investment.

In its way, LEED EB will be helpful in the push to preserve and rejuvenate older facilities. I remember this wonderful international philosopher from Europe telling me once that America will never become successful as a leader in sustainability until it grasps the concepts of limits.

What we can do in that otherwise bleak situation is to appeal to the innate creativity and good old American know how to find as many usable solutions as possible. Certainly the rate of technological innovation is astounding. And if we can apply the brilliance of the American entrepreneur to focus on high performance green buildings, then we won't see the trade off. We'll be able to have our cake and eat it too.

This isn't just theory, by the way. We've been testing the draft product over the last year with more than 75 facility management teams across the country. I've talked with several of them personally, and their stories go a long way to explain how LEED EB helps them solve problems and even catapult operational issues to another level of appreciation.

TFM: Can you provide some examples?

CE: Well, one of the more memorable accounts came from Emory University. The team had picked one of their better buildings to test in the pilot-assuming it would have fewer problems and would be easier to work with.

The commissioning analysis revealed the building's ventilation system had been set up incorrectly right from the start. They wound up cutting their energy costs 35% by fixing that problem alone-more than covering their $80,000 investment in the first year. Another pilot participant-The National Geographic Society-explained how its retrofits had generated a dramatic increase in capital valuation. According to the CFO and facility manager, a bonding agency calculated that the building's market value went up $4 dollars for each dollar invested. Those kinds of numbers get noticed.

TFM: How should facility managers deal with forms of apprehension?

CE: The industry still has a way to go to develop great communication tools for selling green design. But in the world of existing buildings-where most of us work-many high performance features fix real problems or otherwise make tangible improvements to the workplace. These provide quick paybacks when they are packaged together.

Still, anything new can be perceived as risky. Initially, when I joined the USGBC, I was struck by the many board members who told me the organization traditionally served as a support group. These professionals were considered champions forced to fight battles within their organizations in order to achieve their goals. Today's members benefit from these experiences and use them to overcome obstacles within their own environments. People often observe the positive nature of the work we do. Everyone talks about how we can overcome obstacles and channel all of this energy in order to progress.

This is a delightful contrast to a mere focus on the problem. That really sets the green community apart. There's genuine enthusiasm and confidence in the ability to achieve our goals, but we just can't get there fast enough!