💚 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Marty Rozmanith spent seven years writing the requirements for Revit — the tool that runs $1.2B a year in the AEC industry — and now he's building what comes after it. His pitch: pair AI with discrete engineering solvers so every design choice is explainable, not just fast, and use that to strip the padding owners quietly add to every project "just in case." 🤝 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Charlie Cichetti Co-Founder & CEO of Skema.ai, serial entrepreneur, LEED Fellow, and longtime sustainability advocate. Charlie has spent his career helping building owners operate smarter, greener, and more efficiently. Today, he's focused on building a tech startup using AI to dramatically reduce waste, inefficiency, and rework across the building lifecycle. Marty Rozmanith Co-Founder & CTO of Skema.ai. He started his career as a carpenter on a framing crew before earning an engineering degree and working in architecture and structural engineering. He later joined Autodesk and was recruited onto the original Revit team, where he ran the Revit product requirements group for its first seven years - shaping features still core to the product today. After Revit, he worked at Dassault Systèmes, the French engineering-software giant behind the design tools used across multiple industries, before co-founding Skema.ai in 2022 with Charlie Cichetti (and others) to bring that same rigor to buildings. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Marty Rozmanith revolutionizes traditional construction approaches: ✍️ Key Insight #1: Pairing AI with discrete solvers so every design decision has a documented reason. The Challenge: AI alone is a black box — ask it the same design question ten times and it can produce ten different answers, which is a non-starter when a licensed engineer has to sign off and explain a decision. The Solution: Skema.ai combines traditional discrete-math solvers (which handle the hard engineering constraints — cooling, power, layout) with AI that learns to navigate hundreds of interdependent variables and explain why it made each trade-off. ROI: Owners get repeatable, defensible design output — like a data center configuration that names the exact constraint behind every chiller count — without sacrificing the speed AI promises. 🧠 Key Insight #2: "Morphing" — reusing what architects already built instead of starting from a blank page. The Challenge: Most cloud design tools ask architects to rebuild their entire library of assemblies and details from scratch, and early feasibility software forced designers to work only from a rigid pre-built "parts bucket," which architects hated and refused to adopt. The Solution: Skema.ai lets firms take an assembly from a past project and adapt it to a new site and shape, instead of redrawing it — giving designers flexibility while still capturing reusable data. ROI: Faster time from concept to a permit-ready model, plus firms build a growing library of their own best practices instead of losing that knowledge project to project. ✍️ Key Insight #3: Selling directly to owners to eliminate the hidden "CYA tax." The Challenge: Every stakeholder in a project — architect, engineer, contractor — tends to pad their estimate "just in case," a habit Rozmanith and Cichetti call the CYA tax, which typically adds 10–25% to project cost. The Solution: Skema.ai gives owners an in-house tool that non-technical team members can use to produce a highly technical, 75%+ complete design before the architect of record is even brought in — and gives every party access to the same live data at once, removing the excuse to pad. ROI: For portfolio owners like quick-service restaurants and data center operators, even modest per-project savings compound fast — the team points to one retail customer where five extra store openings in a year could move $60M+ in revenue forward. 🎧 Sustainable Soundbite Options "I realized that I can either keep designing buildings, or I can create the tools that everybody else uses to design buildings." — Marty Rozmanith 🫶 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Pull your last three project budgets and estimate the "CYA tax" — the contingency padding added by each party just in case. You can't cut what you haven't measured. This Quarter: Pilot an AI-assisted workflow on one repeatable project type (a prototype store, a standard floor plate) where the tool has to explain why it made each trade-off — not just produce an answer. This Year: Build an integration strategy, not a replacement strategy. Look for tools that plug into what your team already uses (Revit, SketchUp, Rhino) so adoption doesn't carry a switching-cost tax of its own. 🧲 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 🗒 Read the transcript: here 🔗 Connect with Marty Rozmanith: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/martyrozmanith Website: skema.ai YouTube: youtube.com 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 💌 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips delivered twice each week. 👉 Subscribe FREE: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Sustainable buildings aren't just about reducing carbon anymore. In this episode, Annie Bevan explains why the next generation of Green Building Leaders must evaluate materials through multiple lenses — including climate, human health, social equity, biodiversity, and circularity — to make smarter, business-driven decisions that accelerate industry-wide impact. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Annie Bevan is the Founder and CEO of the Sustainability Management and Strategy Collaborative (SMSC), where she helps industries accelerate sustainability through collaboration, strategy, and third-party verification. Having spent more than a decade advancing sustainable building products, certification systems, and industry collaboration, Annie has helped shape initiatives including Mindful Materials while working to simplify how manufacturers, architects, and owners evaluate product sustainability at scale. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building 🚀 Key Insight #1: Sustainable products require more than a carbon score. The Challenge: For years, the industry has evaluated products through individual metrics — first human health, then embodied carbon — without considering their broader environmental and social impacts. The Solution: Annie explains why the industry is moving toward evaluating products across multiple impact categories simultaneously, including:Climate health, Human health, Social equity, Circularity, Biodiversity. The Common Materials Framework helps manufacturers and designers compare products holistically instead of making decisions based on one attribute alone. ROI: Better material decisions, Reduced unintended consequences, Smarter specifications, More resilient buildings, Lower long-term environmental risk. 🚀 Key Insight #2: Sustainability only scales when it makes business sense. The Challenge: Manufacturers invested heavily in EPDs and HPDs because customers requested them — but many struggled to prove those investments actually influenced purchasing decisions. The Solution: Rather than asking manufacturers for endless spreadsheets, Annie helped drive the industry toward shared standards and common language through the Mindful Materials movement. By simplifying sustainability reporting, organizations can spend less time completing questionnaires and more time improving products. ROI: Reduced reporting burden, Increased specification confidence, Better manufacturer engagement, Faster adoption of sustainable products, Stronger return on sustainability investments. 🚀 Key Insight #3: AI will transform sustainability — but only if the data is ready. The Challenge: The green building industry still relies heavily on spreadsheets and inconsistent data structures. Without standardized information, AI cannot provide meaningful recommendations. The Solution: Annie believes the next evolution isn't simply artificial intelligence — it's building the infrastructure that allows verified sustainability data to move automatically between manufacturers, architects, designers, and decision-making platforms. ROI: Faster product selection, Better project reporting, Reduced administrative work, Improved investment decisions, Scalable sustainability across the built environment. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "There is a role for everyone who wants to make a difference in sustainability." — Annie Bevan ✅ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next sustainability initiative with these practical steps: This Week: Review one product specification using more than just embodied carbon. Consider human health, circularity, and social impacts as well. This Quarter: Explore frameworks such as Mindful Materials and Declare to better understand holistic product transparency. This Year: Develop a material selection process that aligns sustainability goals with measurable business value, helping your organization reduce risk while improving project outcomes. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 📄 Read the transcript: here 💼 Connect with Annie Bevan: linkedin.com/in/annie-bevan-78402b31 🌐 Company Website: smscollaborative.com 🌎 Verico: https://www.verico-audit.com/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 💌 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips delivered twice each week. 👉 Subscribe FREE: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Sustainability isn't just about reducing carbon or earning certifications — it's about creating places where people can thrive. In this episode, Brian Bollinger shares how green building, technology, AI, waste reduction, and thoughtful community design all work together to create healthier buildings, stronger businesses, and more resilient communities. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Brian Bollinger is a sustainability strategist, entrepreneur, and connector passionate about helping organizations build healthier, more efficient, and more resilient communities. His career spans refugee resettlement, nonprofit leadership, energy management, zero waste consulting, AI innovation, and sustainable building strategy. Today, Brian works across multiple ventures advancing green buildings, waste reduction, AI-powered technology, and environmental stewardship while helping organizations turn sustainability into measurable business value. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building 🧐 Key Insight #1: Sustainable buildings create healthier communities — not just lower utility bills. The Challenge: Many organizations still see sustainability as an added expense instead of a long-term investment. The Solution: Brian shares how designing a Net Zero community center for Friends of Refugees transformed the conversation. Better ventilation, improved daylight, smarter mechanical systems, stormwater reuse, and healthier materials weren't simply environmental upgrades — they directly improved people's lives. ROI: Lower operating costs, Healthier indoor environments, Fewer sick days, Better long-term stewardship, Buildings designed to serve communities for generations instead of decades. ✍️ Key Insight #2: Waste isn't just trash — it's hidden business intelligence. The Challenge: Most organizations never truly understand what they're throwing away — or how much money they're losing. The Solution: Through Waste to Zero, Brian helps organizations perform detailed waste audits that identify contamination, purchasing habits, recycling opportunities, and operational inefficiencies. He explains that the biggest improvements often come from surprisingly simple changes: Better signage, Smarter purchasing decisions, Employee engagement, Friendly competition between departments. ROI: Lower hauling costs, Higher recycling rates, Reduced contamination, Better purchasing decisions, Significant operational savings ☝️ Key Insight #3: AI will become the new electricity for business. The Challenge: Many organizations are unsure where AI fits into their daily work. The Solution: Brian encourages professionals to stop viewing AI as a futuristic technology and instead treat it like a practical productivity tool. Whether it's analyzing waste streams, modernizing legacy software, organizing meetings, or improving workflows, AI allows people to spend less time on repetitive work and more time solving meaningful problems. ROI: Faster decision-making, Better data analysis, Increased productivity, Improved customer experiences, More time focused on high-value work. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite Sustainability isn't just about reducing carbon — it's about creating places where people can thrive, businesses can flourish, and communities can become healthier for generations. — Brian Bollinger ✅ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these practical steps: This Week: Take a closer look at one area of your building operations — whether it's waste, energy use, or occupant wellness — and identify one simple improvement that can make an immediate impact. This Quarter: Conduct a waste audit or facility assessment to uncover hidden inefficiencies. Review purchasing decisions, improve recycling signage, and engage your team in creating better sustainability habits. This Year: Develop a long-term strategy that integrates sustainability, technology, and human well-being. Build systems that don't just reduce environmental impact — but create healthier, more resilient communities for years to come. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 📄 Read the transcript: here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Brian Bollinger: linkedin.com/in/brian-w-bollinger 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, crafted from architectural-grade anodized aluminum to last as long as the building itself. Their intuitive online plaque designer lets you create a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — simply enter your LEED project number and personalize your design. Whether you're recognizing a newly certified project or celebrating your team's accomplishment, Building Plaques helps showcase the story behind your building's sustainability journey. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

✅ The Green Impact Report Quick Take: Concrete is responsible for building nearly every community on earth—and it's also one of the biggest opportunities to reduce embodied carbon. In this episode, Kerry Sutton explains why the future isn't about finding one miracle material. It's about educating the entire industry, embracing innovation responsibly, and collaborating across every stakeholder to create resilient, lower-carbon infrastructure that lasts for generations. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Kerry Sutton, PE, LEED AP is the Executive Director of NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete. In this role, Ms. Sutton leads NEU's mission to foster global collaboration, accelerating the adoption and use of reduced-carbon concrete technologies. Ms. Sutton brings over 30 years of extensive experience in the concrete sector, with a strong background in pavement design, construction, and materials. Her appointment signals a reinforced commitment by NEU to advance sustainable practices through technical expertise and industry-wide collaboration. She also serves as the Director, Industry Relations for the American Concrete Institute (ACI). Throughout her career, Ms. Sutton has been instrumental in advancing the acceptance and adoption of ACI codes and standards. She has been an active participant in the model code and standards development processes with leading organizations, including the International Code Council (ICC), ASTM, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP). Ms. Sutton also currently serves as a Technical Consultant for the Slag Cement Association (SCA), advising on standards development. Her recent work includes participation in the Consensus Body for the Green Building Initiative (GBI), reflecting her dedication to sustainability. Prior to her work with ACI, Ms. Sutton served as the Director of Engineering for the Michigan Concrete Association and held roles as a Technical Service Engineer and Corporate Environmental Engineer with Holcim, Inc. She is a registered professional engineer in the State of Michigan. She holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University and an MS in Civil Engineering from Wayne State University. Her technical proficiency and leadership are expected to accelerate NEU's impact on the industry's path to carbon neutrality. About NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete was established in 2022 by the American Concrete Institute. The Center, based at ACI World Headquarters in Farmington Hills, 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building 🧠 Key Insight #1: Carbon-neutral concrete isn't one product — it's an ecosystem of smarter materials, better education, and informed decisions. The Challenge: The construction industry often searches for a single "silver bullet" material, while many project teams still lack a clear understanding of embodied carbon or how emerging concrete technologies should be evaluated. The Solution: Kerry explains that success comes from educating everyone involved — from architects and engineers to code officials, professors, students, contractors and owners — so innovative materials can be adopted confidently and responsibly. ROI: Better education leads to better specifications, faster market adoption, lower embodied carbon, and more informed investment decisions while reducing project risk. 🧠 Key Insight #2: Collaboration — not competition — is accelerating concrete's path toward carbon neutrality. The Challenge: For years, organizations pursued sustainability goals independently, often duplicating efforts or working toward competing priorities that slowed industry-wide progress. The Solution: NEU creates a platform where manufacturers, researchers, engineers, policymakers and sustainability leaders openly share knowledge, performance data, and practical lessons that move the entire industry forward. ROI: Faster innovation, stronger standards, greater trust in new technologies, and broader adoption of lower-carbon construction solutions across the built environment. 🧠 Key Insight #3: The future of sustainable concrete depends on balancing lower embodied carbon with long-term resilience. The Challenge: Reducing carbon alone isn't enough if buildings, bridges, and infrastructure don't last. Sustainability without durability simply shifts environmental impacts into the future through repairs and replacement. The Solution: Kerry emphasizes designing structures that simultaneously reduce embodied carbon while maximizing durability, resilience, and lifecycle performance. She also highlights exciting innovations like recycled concrete technologies that recover and reuse valuable cementitious materials. ROI: Longer-lasting infrastructure reduces lifecycle costs, minimizes future emissions, conserves natural resources, and creates a truly sustainable built environment. 💬 Sustainable Soundbites "Don't put yourself in a box. Be open and ready for different opportunities." — Kerry Sutton ✍️ Your Green Building Action Plan This Week: Learn the difference between operational carbon and embodied carbon—and review the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for one material specified on your current project. This Quarter: Bring architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, and owners together to discuss lower-carbon material options before design decisions become locked in. This Year: Develop an organization-wide strategy that balances carbon reduction with resilience by incorporating lifecycle thinking into material selection and project planning. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 📄 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Kerry Sutton: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-sutton-pe-leed-ap-b3485519/overlay/contact-info/ Website: https://www.miconcrete.org/home-michigan-concrete-association http://www.pavements4life.com/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe ☘️ Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips delivered twice each week. 👉 Subscribe FREE: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

💚 The Green Impact Report Quick take: The next chapter of sustainability isn't about making individual buildings slightly better — it's about redesigning entire communities. Vincent Martinez explains why the future of decarbonization depends on collaboration, adaptive reuse, electrification, and thinking beyond the building itself. 🫶 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Vincent Martinez is the President & CEO of Architecture 2030, where he has spent nearly two decades helping shape the global movement toward a carbon-neutral built environment. From launching collaborative industry initiatives to advancing embodied carbon standards and policy frameworks, Vincent works at the intersection of architecture, engineering, planning, and climate leadership to accelerate meaningful change across the built environment. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building 🚀 Key Insight #1: The future of sustainability goes beyond buildings — it includes cities, infrastructure, landscapes, and entire communities. The Challenge: Traditional sustainability efforts often focus on individual buildings, limiting opportunities for larger-scale climate impact. The Solution: Expand design thinking to include urban planning, infrastructure, landscape architecture, electrification, renewable energy, and nature-based solutions that work together as an integrated system. ROI: Systems-level thinking delivers greater carbon reductions while improving resilience, public health, water quality, biodiversity, and long-term community value. 🚀 Key Insight #2: Building reuse may be one of the most powerful climate strategies available today. The Challenge: The global building stock is being renovated at roughly 1% annually — far below the pace required to achieve climate goals. The Solution: Increase adaptive reuse by targeting key "building intervention points" such as property sales, lease renewals, equipment replacement, and major renovations with supportive financing and policy. ROI: Reusing buildings dramatically reduces embodied carbon while modernizing assets, improving operational efficiency, and extending the life of existing infrastructure. 🚀 Key Insight #3: Collaboration — not competition — is how the industry reaches its climate goals. The Challenge: Sustainability organizations, standards, and initiatives often develop independently, creating duplication and confusion across the marketplace. The Solution: Bring stakeholders together through shared frameworks, aligned methodologies, and collaborative initiatives like the ECHO Project that harmonize embodied carbon reporting. ROI: Industry-wide collaboration accelerates adoption, creates consistent standards, reduces duplicated effort, and enables faster progress toward decarbonization targets. 🎧 Sustainable Soundbites My superpower is bringing people together with generosity, transparency, and a collaborative spirit." — Vincent Martinez ✅ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: 1. This Week: Evaluate your projects through multiple decarbonization lenses—not just energy efficiency, but electrification, renewable energy, embodied carbon, and resilience. 2. This Quarter: Identify opportunities for adaptive reuse or renovation before considering new construction, and look for natural building intervention points where upgrades make financial and operational sense. 3. This Year: Build stronger partnerships across disciplines and organizations to create integrated climate solutions that extend beyond individual buildings into neighborhoods and communities. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Vincent Martinez: Website: https://www.architecture2030.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentmichaelmartinez/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🙏🏼 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

✅ The Green Impact Report Quick take: Dave Hubka has spent 20+ years turning "up to code" into "why would we settle for that?" — and his approach of building sustainability directly into the spec (instead of waiting for a client to ask) is a playbook every green building professional can steal. 🤝 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Dave Hubka is the Sustainability Practice Leader at EUA, where he lights the way for the firm's team to create healthier buildings for clients and the environment. His work starts with listening — collaborating closely with clients to uncover their specific sustainability goals and finding the best strategies to get there. Dave spent the first decade of his career as a mechanical engineer while earning accreditations in sustainable building methods, and he's been teaching ever since — lecturing around the country on designing, constructing, and operating better buildings. He's a LEED Fellow and WELL AP, and he still loves helping teams strategize the big-picture sustainability initiatives that move the industry forward. Dave sees a bright future ahead: one where most of the buildings EUA designs create more energy than they consume and actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. Outside of work, Dave keeps his mind and body in motion — spin classes, Bikram yoga, family game nights, and walks with his two dachshunds. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Dave Hubka revolutionizes traditional construction approaches: 🫶 Key Insight #1: Sustainability shouldn't be a task you hand out — it should already be baked into the spec. The Challenge: Sustainability is often treated as an add-on that gets bolted onto a project only when a client specifically asks for it — and when it's handed to a team as an extra task, people who don't know how to execute it quietly step away from it. The Solution: Dave works directly with his firm's spec team so glass, envelope, and MEP efficiencies are set up for success by default — clients get good design and sustainability without ever having to ask for it. ROI: Every project starts from a higher baseline, LEED and WELL work becomes an easier lift on top of already-sustainable design, and teams don't disengage from work they were simply told to do. 🤩 Key Insight #2: Codes are catching up — and MEP commissioning is becoming the new normal. The Challenge: Commissioning has long been "just a LEED prerequisite," treated as optional unless a project is specifically pursuing certification. The Solution: Wisconsin's new energy code now requires MEP commissioning, so Dave's firm is building out an in-house commissioning team to verify designs perform correctly across every mode of operation. ROI: Commissioned systems actually work as designed, energy models hold up in reality, and firms that build this capability now are ahead of where regulation is clearly heading. ✍️ Key Insight #3: The next sustainability frontier is the carbon footprint of water — and turning EPD/HPD transparency into real optimization. The Challenge: The industry has spent the last decade getting comfortable with EPDs and HPDs, but transparency alone doesn't reduce impact — and almost no one is tracking the carbon cost of getting water into (and dirty water out of) a building. The Solution: Dave expects the next 5–15 years to bring real accounting for water-related carbon emissions, plus a shift from manufacturers simply disclosing product data (EPDs/HPDs) to actively optimizing based on it. ROI: Teams that start tracking these metrics now will be ahead of the curve as grids decarbonize (a projected 95% by scenario in 25 years) and as owners start demanding optimization, not just disclosure. 🎧 Sustainable Soundbite "It's not that we inherit the planet from our parents — we're actually borrowing it from our children." — Dave Hubka 🧗‍♂️ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Sit down with your spec team and identify one system (glass, envelope, MEP) where sustainability can be the default, not a client request. This Quarter: Start tracking EPD/HPD data for your key material categories — the goal is optimization, not just disclosure. This Year: Build or partner for in-house MEP commissioning capability before your state's energy code requires it. ✍️ Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 🗒 Read the transcript here 🔗 Connect with Dave Hubka: Website: https://eua.com/ 📖 Book mentioned in this episode — The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🙏🏼 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🧠 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes — just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Only 3% of people on a building project can actually open a BIM file — Ken Rhee is fixing that, and using AI and sensors to turn "as-built" data into real-time building intelligence that pays off in energy, insurance, and asset value. 🤩 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Ken Rhee Joined VIM Build in Atlanta, GA as President at the beginning of January, 2026. Co-founded Integral VIM, a BIM consulting company based in Shanghai in 2021, together with Arol Wolford ; currently developing VXBOS, a VIM-based 3D building operating software. Based in Shanghai, worked at Morgan Stanley as VP and later Executive Director in its real estate banking and investment departments (2006-2012). Conducted M&A advisory work at JP Morgan in Hong Kong and Singapore (1998-2003) Between 2012 and 2024, served as Founding Executive Director for Urban Land. Institute (ULI) China Mainland and has authored or edited a number of ULI publications, and has led a series of ULI Advisory Services Panels in China and South Korea. Holds an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1998) and a BA in Econ/Business at UCLA. Born and raised in Korea until the age of 14 and immigrated to the US and settled in southern California 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Ken Rhee revolutionizes how project teams actually use their building data: 💚 Key Insight #1: Democratizing BIM Access The Challenge: BIM models are so large and fragmented — sometimes 100+ Revit files for one complex building — that even developers rarely get to see them. Historically, only a small fraction of people on a project can actually open a BIM file. The Solution: VIM Build federates Revit, IFC, and Navisworks files into a lightweight format anyone can open on a laptop, no Revit or VIM subscription required, with clickable materials that surface real bill-of-materials data. ROI: Entire project teams — architects, contractors, developers, even facility managers down the road — can finally see and use the same building data instead of relying on static exports. 💚 Key Insight #2: AI-Powered Predictive Maintenance The Challenge: Building teams typically know what is installed (like 20 different light bulb SKUs across a tower) but not how to plan around it — replacement schedules are guesswork, and maintenance crews waste time locating parts. The Solution: Layering AI on top of federated BIM data lets teams isolate any component by SKU, locate it instantly, and use AI to estimate useful life and auto-build replacement schedules. ROI: Lower operating expenses, less reactive maintenance, and faster turnaround for maintenance staff who now know exactly where to go. 💚 Key Insight #3: Real-Time Digital Twins That Talk to the Building The Challenge: There's a disconnect between the operational data buildings generate and how that data actually informs asset management, financing, and insurance decisions. The Solution: Integral BIM's sensor networks (temperature, humidity, CO2, PM2.5, TVOC, occupancy) tie directly into AC and lighting controls — even letting tenants pre-heat or cool their space from a smartphone before arriving — all layered onto the BIM-based digital twin. ROI: Reduced energy use, better facility management, and — because insurers and lenders can assess risk more accurately — improved financing terms and lower insurance premiums. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "Only 3% of people working on development projects where BIM is used can actually access the BIM models." — Ken Rhee ✅ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Audit who on your project team can actually open your BIM files. If it's limited to a couple of specialists, you have a data-access problem worth solving. This Quarter: Pilot a federated, lightweight BIM viewer so developers, facility managers, and other stakeholders can explore building data without a Revit license. This Year: Build the business case for a real-time digital twin — start with a handful of sensor types tied to your building controls, and track the impact on financing conversations and insurance premiums. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 🗒️ Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Ken Rhee: Website: https://vimaec.com/, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rhee-295a4018**/** 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: **BuildingPlaques.com** helps project teams showcase the story behind their LEED and green building certifications with fully customized architectural plaques. Highlight your scorecard, sustainability strategy, project team, and certifications in one sleek display designed to educate and inspire building occupants. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: After 42 years at HKS, Kirk Teske reflects on a career that helped shape sustainable design at scale. From leading one of the earliest LEED pilot projects to influencing generations of architects, Kirk shares why responsible design, stakeholder engagement, and courageous leadership remain the foundation of a better built environment. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Kirk Teske is a retired architect, LEED Fellow, and former Global Director at HKS, where he spent more than four decades helping transform one of the world's leading design firms. During his career, he led corporate headquarters projects, hospitality developments, sustainability initiatives, and international practice growth while serving as a champion for responsible design and environmental stewardship. A longtime advocate for sustainable architecture, Kirk helped advance early LEED adoption, supported the Architecture 2030 Challenge, and played a key role in integrating sustainability into firm-wide practice standards. Today, he continues his environmental leadership through community advocacy focused on protecting natural landscapes and responsible development. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Kirk Teske shares lessons from a remarkable career in architecture while offering guidance for the next generation of sustainability leaders. 🧠 Key Insight #1: Sustainable design succeeds when it becomes part of every design conversation. The Challenge: Sustainability has often been treated as a specialty service or a collection of certifications rather than a core design responsibility. The Solution: Integrate energy efficiency, healthy buildings, resilience, low-carbon thinking, and responsible material selection into every project from the beginning. ROI: Better-performing buildings, stronger client outcomes, reduced environmental impact, and long-term business value. 🧠 Key Insight #2: The best building solutions come from diverse perspectives. The Challenge: Traditional design processes can overlook valuable insights from stakeholders, researchers, users, and adjacent disciplines. The Solution: Engage multiple voices throughout the design process, including researchers, anthropologists, clients, operators, and building occupants. ROI: More innovative solutions, improved project performance, stronger stakeholder alignment, and buildings that better serve their communities. 🧠 Key Insight #3: Influence creates a greater legacy than any individual project. The Challenge: Many professionals focus solely on project outcomes without recognizing the long-term impact they can have on people and organizational culture. The Solution: Mentor others, advocate for better ideas, create opportunities for emerging professionals, and lead through influence rather than authority. ROI: Stronger teams, accelerated industry progress, greater organizational impact, and a legacy that extends far beyond completed buildings. 🎙️ Sustainable Soundbite "Your voice, even as a young person on a design team, is important." — Kirk Teske 🤗 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Identify one opportunity to bring additional stakeholder perspectives into an active project or design discussion. This Quarter: Review project standards and specifications to ensure sustainability goals are embedded from the earliest stages of design. This Year: Mentor an emerging professional and help them identify a project that could become a career-defining opportunity. 🔗 Connect & Learn More **🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast** 📜 Read the transcript 👉 here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Kirk Teske : Website: hksinc.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kirkteske 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.gbes.com 🤩 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: BuildingPlaques.com BuildingPlaques.com helps project teams showcase the story behind their LEED and green building certifications with fully customized architectural plaques. Highlight your scorecard, sustainability strategy, project team, and certifications in one sleek display designed to educate and inspire building occupants. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick Take: What happens when a LEED Fellow entrepreneur, a Fortune 500 technology executive (turn investor), and a startup growth strategist sit down to discuss the future of building design? You get an inside look at how AI is reshaping architecture, construction, ownership, and the economics of the built environment. In this special episode, Charlie Cichetti, Robin Bienfait, and Jim Grady explore why the next generation of buildings won't be designed from scratch — they'll be built from intelligence. 🎓 Meet the Innovators Charlie Cichetti Co-Founder & CEO of Skema.ai, serial entrepreneur, LEED Fellow, and longtime sustainability advocate. Charlie has spent his career helping building owners operate smarter, greener, and more efficiently. Today, he's focused on building a tech startup using AI to dramatically reduce waste, inefficiency, and rework across the building lifecycle. Robin Bienfait Former CIO of BlackBerry, senior executive at AT&T and Samsung, venture capitalist, angel investor, and founder of Atlanta Tech Park. Robin managed thousands of facilities throughout her corporate career and became one of Skema AI's earliest believers (and investors) after seeing the platform's potential to transform how owners design and manage buildings. She serves on the Board at Skema, also. Jim Grady Growth strategist, startup advisor, and investor relations expert. Jim helps founders sharpen positioning, communicate vision, and accelerate growth. Throughout the conversation, he pushes beyond the technology itself to uncover the business case, market timing, and investment thesis behind AI-powered building design. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building ✍️ Key Insight #1: The design & construction industry keeps throwing away its most valuable asset — its own knowledge. The Challenge: Every project generates enormous amounts of design intelligence, yet most of it sits unused on servers after completion. The Solution: Skema AI allows owners and architects to learn from previous projects, creating reusable building intelligence instead of starting over every time. ROI: Faster design schedules, lower project costs, improved consistency, and reduced rework. ✍️ Key Insight #2: AI isn't replacing architects — it is eliminating repetitive work. The Challenge: Design professionals spend too much time recreating work, searching for information, and solving problems that have already been solved before. The Solution: AI accelerates repetitive workflows so architects can focus on creativity, strategy, sustainability, and client outcomes. ROI: Higher productivity, better employee engagement, stronger project teams, and more time spent on high-value work. ✍️ Key Insight #3: Building owners will become the biggest drivers of design & construction AI adoption. The Challenge: Rising costs, schedule delays, contingency budgets, and change orders continue to threaten project viability. The Solution: Owners can use platforms like Skema to create consistency across portfolios while improving collaboration among architects, contractors, and suppliers. ROI: Faster project delivery, reduced risk, improved capital efficiency, and earlier revenue generation from completed facilities. 🧐What is Charlie Up To? Charlie and the Skema AI team are entering an exciting growth phase. Current initiatives include: ✅ Expanding direct relationships with major retailers and building owners ✅ Growing Skema AI's footprint in Data Center Design ✅ Launching broader access for architects through a freemium offering ✅ Expanding AI capabilities for contractors and construction teams ✅ Preparing for a major Series A raise to accelerate growth As Charlie puts it, The Mission is Simple: "Create the 'fast-forward button' for commercial building design and construction" 🌟 Why Robin Is Betting On Skema Robin has spent decades leading technology transformations inside some of the world's largest organizations. What stood out to her wasn't simply the AI, it was that Skema was built AI-native from the beginning. According to Robin, many incumbent software companies now face a difficult challenge: they must bolt AI onto existing products. Skema started with AI as its foundation. That distinction could become one of the company's greatest competitive advantages as adoption accelerates throughout the industry. 🧰 Jim Grady's Perspective Throughout the discussion, Jim repeatedly returns to the question investors care about most: "What creates value?" His takeaway: Owners are increasingly frustrated by inefficiencies, delays, and repeated mistakes across projects. As those pressures grow, solutions that preserve institutional knowledge and accelerate project delivery become increasingly valuable. The opportunity isn't simply saving money, it's unlocking revenue sooner, by getting projects operational faster. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "We've built the fast-forward button for how you design and build commercial buildings." — Charlie Cichetti Quote Options Charlie Cichetti "The more of your building intelligence you can reuse, the faster your next project becomes." Robin Bienfait "Better security is built in, not bolted on. The same is true for AI." James D. Grady "The biggest opportunity comes from stopping the cycle of relearning the same lessons on every project." ✅ Your Green Building Action Plan This Week: Identify one repetitive design, estimating, or project workflow that could benefit from AI-enabled knowledge reuse. This Quarter: Evaluate how institutional knowledge is currently captured — and where valuable lessons are being lost. This Year: Develop a digital strategy that preserves building intelligence across your entire portfolio. 🎧 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 📜 Read the transcript 👉 here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Robin Bienfait LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinbienfait/ Website: https://www.emnovate.com/ 🔗 Connect with Jim Grady LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdgrady/ 🌟 Learn More About Skema AI: 🌐 https://skema.ai 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤩 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: BuildingPlaques.com BuildingPlaques.com helps project teams showcase the story behind their LEED and green building certifications with fully customized architectural plaques. Highlight your scorecard, sustainability strategy, project team, and certifications in one sleek display designed to educate and inspire building occupants. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: AI, data centers, and digital infrastructure are transforming the built environment faster than most of us realize. In this episode, Anya Eydman explains why the future of decarbonization isn't just about technology—it's about trust, education, community engagement, and helping buildings become active participants in a cleaner, more resilient energy ecosystem. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion **Anya Eydman is a strategic advisor and community advocate working at the intersection of energy infrastructure, grid assets, and public–private systems. Her work focuses on helping complex projects move from concept to execution in ways communities can understand, trust, and benefit from. She specializes in stakeholder alignment, community partnerships, workforce readiness, and last-mile implementation strategies that connect infrastructure projects with real community impact. Anya has worked across energy optimization, climate initiatives, and civic partnerships, with a focus on building resilient and equitable systems that support long-term economic and environmental outcomes. She holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and, outside of work, writes poetry, meditates, and runs.** 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Anya Eydman challenges conventional thinking about energy, AI, and sustainability while helping us understand how digital infrastructure is reshaping the future of the built environment. 🧠 Key Insight #1: Buildings are evolving from energy consumers into grid assets. The Challenge: Most buildings have historically been viewed as passive energy consumers, limiting opportunities to support grid resilience and energy flexibility. The Solution: Reframe buildings as active participants in the energy ecosystem through intelligent infrastructure, electrification, distributed energy resources, and grid-interactive technologies. ROI: Improved resilience, enhanced energy management, future regulatory readiness, and new opportunities to participate in evolving energy markets. 🧠 Key Insight #2: AI's biggest sustainability opportunity is eliminating inefficiency. The Challenge: Organizations remain burdened by fragmented workflows, disconnected systems, and fear surrounding AI adoption. The Solution: Leverage AI to identify hidden inefficiencies, streamline operations, improve decision-making, and enhance productivity while keeping humans at the center of the process. ROI: Reduced waste, improved operational performance, lower carbon impacts, and more effective use of time, talent, and resources. 🧠 Key Insight #3: Community trust is becoming critical infrastructure. The Challenge: As data centers, energy infrastructure, and AI technologies expand, communities often lack visibility into their impacts and benefits. The Solution: Prioritize education, transparency, stakeholder engagement, and honest conversations about both risks and opportunities. ROI: Stronger public support, reduced project friction, faster adoption of innovation, and more sustainable long-term outcomes. Sustainable Soundbites "Every single industry will need to be a green jobs industry." — Anya Eydman 🤗 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Evaluate how your current spaces support occupant wellness through daylight, air quality, and connection to nature. This Quarter: Explore geothermal or photovoltaic feasibility studies for upcoming projects or facility upgrades. This Year: Build sustainability conversations around measurable human outcomes — wellness, productivity, and operational savings — to improve stakeholder alignment. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 📜 Read the transcript 👉 here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Anya Eydman : Website: arya.energy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anyaeydman/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.gbes.com 🤩 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: BuildingPlaques.com BuildingPlaques.com helps project teams showcase the story behind their LEED and green building certifications with fully customized architectural plaques. Highlight your scorecard, sustainability strategy, project team, and certifications in one sleek display designed to educate and inspire building occupants. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.