Announcing Sustainability Leaders Week: 2021 Summit-Palooza!

Hello Sustainable MEP Leaders, With the Sustainability Leaders Week: Summit-Palooza coming up in February, now is a great time to invite people to join the network! If you know someone who would be a good fit but whose voice has been missing from this group, you may want to encourage them to join soon. This event would be a fantastic introduction to the network and what it’s all about. One easy option is to share this one-page introduction to the week with someone. It's important to remember that this event is only open to members of the Peer Networks, so anyone you invite would need to apply for a membership first. Luckily, we’ve created a handy guide for that too. Because this event is open to all the Peer Networks and one of the highlights will be cross-disciplinary interactions, if you know a contractor, consultant, or designer you’d like to see in one of the other networks, now is the perfect time to invite them too. The more the merrier! For many more details on the Summit-Palooza, visit the registration page.

Happy New Year Sustainable MEP Leaders! Things at BuildingGreen are ramping up as we prep for the Sustainability Leaders Week: Summit-Palooza at the end of February (2/22-2/26). We still have seats available and we encourage you to register now to save your spot! Here are answers to some of the Frequently Asked Questions we’ve heard so far, in case you’re still on the fence. Are you really expecting me to attend an entire week of activities online?
No! The sessions we have planned cover a 6/7-hour block each day, but no one will attend every single session. We’ve designed the schedule so you can pick and choose a la carte what you'd like to attend based on your interests and availability. Your registration includes as many sessions as you’d like. We estimate you could devote anywhere from just an hour or two total to 60-70% of your time that week to this event. When will the topics for specific sessions be available?
We plan to have this information out to you by the end of January. Remember that the agenda is built around topics that are top of mind for you. To tell us what you’d like to focus on, please fill out this survey by Friday, January 15. Will there be CEUs?
We will try for CEUs for some of the sessions, but we can’t guarantee them right now. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. Can I share my registration with a colleague?
No - one registration reserves one spot in the event. As seen above, we know that none of you will be able to attend the entire event, but we ask you not to share seats. This helps us keep track of attendees and manage other logistics as well as meet our bottom line so we can continue to offer you events like this in the future. If I have no budget for events like this or my firm/company did not approve my request, are there any other options?
Yes! We know that many employers have been tightening their belts and we recognize that this is a difficult time for many. We want the value of this event to be available to all, regardless of finances. Therefore, if the ticket price ($349 all-inclusive) will prevent you form participating, please reach out to RoseAnn at roseann@buildinggreen.com for other options. For other questions, contact RoseAnn or Jen (jennifer@buildinggreen.com) or reply to this post. We hope to see you in February!

Hello everyone, Here’s a short video from Nadav (BuildingGreen President and lead facilitator for the SAL, SDL, and MEP groups) walking you through the schedule for the Summit-Palooza. Have a look! A few notes:

• This is not the final schedule, so the sessions we’ve assigned to each slot may shift slightly. We'll have a definite schedule after the pre-summit survey closes on Friday.
  • If you haven’t filled out the survey yet, there’s still time! Let us know what topics you’d like to focus on.
• Once the schedule is finalized, Summit-Palooza registrants will be asked to sign up for individual sessions. For now, you can purchase your all-access pass to the event here.

Any questions, let us know!
Jen

Hi everybody, We are excited to share the full schedule for Sustainability Leaders Week: Summit-Palooza! Attached is an image of the schedule with each type of activity color-coded (all times shown are EST). Use this link for an interactive schedule and click on any session for a full title and description. Registrants, we’ll let you know shortly how to sign up for these individual sessions. For now, we hope this will help you start planning which ones you’d like to attend. If you’re not registered yet, it’s not too late to join us! We’re also pleased to announce that we'll be holding two Show & Tell events before the Summit-Palooza. These are free and open to anyone, whether or not you’ll be attending Sustainability Leaders Week. Come see your peers from all networks present for five minutes each on a variety of topics relating to their work. These will be held Monday, February 1st from 7-8pm ET and Tuesday, February 2nd from 4-5pm ET. Join for one or both! The Zoom registration link covers both sessions. With presenters’ consent, we'll also share recordings from these presentations in advance of the Summit-Palooza. If you’d like to give a five-minute presentation, please use this form to let us know. Thanks! Jen & the BG team

Hi folks, Plans and registrations for the Summit-Palooza are coming together beautifully. We now have over 60 registrants, including a great mix of old-timers and new faces. I love that the array of events we have planned gives us space both to dive deeper into our own network AND to collaborate actively with all the other networks. I'm especially excited about the Integrative Design Jams, where we will clarify the challenges and explore solutions to energy, air quality, materials, resilience, and social challenges together with the amazing architects, GCs, and consultants in this constellation of networks. If you've been on the fence about signing up, take a look at the updated schedule that Jen shared yestereday and reach out to us privately if you have questions specific to your own situation. Yours, Nadav

Hello Sustainability Leaders!   Here are the latest updates on the Summit-Palooza. 

• The Integrative Design Jams have been approved for 2 GBCI CEUs each. Reminder: access the interactive schedule here.
• Here's a list of attendees (so far) for a taste of the connections you’ll have the chance to make. The list can be sorted by name, network, and firm/company.
• If you’re not signed up yet, we still have room! Get your ticket here. And please reach out to me or to RoseAnn if the price is any trouble for you.

  In addition, we wanted to share some quotes from the pre-summit-palooza survey for a bit of inspiration. Here’s what you’re bringing to this event:

"Urgency for climate action. Optimism for the Biden/Harris administration."

"As always, looking to recharge, re-energize, be inspired, and connect."

"I'm just really excited for the cross-disciplinary conversation! Shedding potential roadblocks and realizing the enabling factors in how we work together amplifies our ability to get to those most successful outcomes."

"Feeling thankful for this group. It has been one of the constants in all the chaos."

Some questions you’re asking that we’ll collectively seek to answer:

"How do we collaborate to create a "revolution in values" (Jeremy Lent) in our industry? Can we collectively move the needle away from our  norms and create space for market drivers to re-value the built environment for its role in healing, growth, and communities?"

"How can all of us work together to leverage better outcomes for our projects? What does each group want from each other to do work better?"

"How can I better teach younger professionals the intent/why behind any sustainable / resilient measures, versus their gut-reaction to google the quick answer, so they can check the box and move on. Is there a different way to train critical thinking?" "Can we get back to some basics - like how to inspire "every day" architects and interior designers and MEP engineers to think about the broader picture/ broader goals?"

And what you're excited about:

"A chance to connect with Peers during a time when it's harder to do that.”

"Learning how to successfully make change within our firms."

"There are important trends regarding embodied carbon, electrification, grid-integrated buildings, and JEDI. At the same time, it's crucial that the fundamentals don't drop away: climate-responsive analysis and design, EUI, energy efficiency, 2030 reporting, IEQ, health and wellness, etc….Strategies for effectively managing this would be good to discuss."

"A shared goal and road map for how we will all work together as a sustainability community through AEC"

“Engaging in conversations that remind me why I love being a sustainability leader."

"A unified path forward for our industry"

"The same buzz and energy that I always get from these summits. Always so inspiring and uplifting!"

Hello everyone, We now have five summit-palooza sessions eligible for both AIA and GBCI CEUs! The details are included below, and the full schedule is available here. This means you can earn up to 9 credits for the all-inclusive price of $349 (or contact us if this registration fee is a barrier), plus many more opportunities to connect and collaborate. Integrative Design Jam: Healthy Materials--Connecting the Dots to Procurement
(2 GBCI, 2 AIA)
Tue, February 23, 1:00pm – 2:50pm ET
Designers and spec-writers are getting smarter about choosing better products, but too often these choices don't make it through the bidding and procurement gauntlet. How can designers and contractors work together to solve this problem systemically? After an introduction, we'll have one round of break-outs to clearly define the problem, and a second round to come up with solutions. Working Group: Embodied Carbon and Tally-DDx
(1 GBCI, 1 AIA)
Wed. February 24, 2:00pm – 2:55pm ET
An update on the soon-to-be released Tally export to DDx and a chance to offer feedback. Let's get everyone reporting embodied carbon for the upcoming 2020 DDx reporting cycle! Integrative Design Jam: Integrated solutions for air quality and health
(2 GBCI, 2 AIA)
Wed. February 24, 3:00pm – 4:50pm ET
Air quality is all too often left to the mechanical engineer to manage, but architects and contractors have a critical role to play. The pandemic has highlighted long-standing air quality issues in schools and other buildings; wildfires have made it harder to just bring more outside air; and energy impacts are an ongoing concern. How can we collaborate to solve for all these factors? After an introduction, we'll have one round of break-outs to clearly define the problem, and a second round to come up with solutions. Integrative Design Jam: Decarbonizing Existing Buildings--Envelope + MEP Solutions
(2 GBCI, 2 AIA)
Thu. February 25, 11:00am – 12:50pm ET
Retrofits that improve energy performance and eliminate fossil fuels are the most direct path to zero carbon buildings. But making them cost-effective is a challenge. How can we collaborate across disciplines to solve this conundrum? After an introduction, we'll have one round of break-outs to clearly define the problem, and a second round to come up with solutions.
Retrofits that improve energy performance and eliminate fossil fuels are the most direct path to zero carbon buildings. But making them cost-effective is a challenge. How can we collaborate across disciplines to solve this conundrum? After an introduction, we'll have one round of break-outs to clearly define the problem, and a second round to come up with solutions. Integrative Design Jam: Integrating Social Sustainability
(2 GBCI, 2 AIA)
Fri. February 26, 12:00pm – 1:50pm ET
Increasing stakeholder and community engagement is a heavy lift, how do we center equity and integrate social sustainability into our processes from analyzing opportunities, running impactful charrettes, to keeping up the momentum?

Hello again Sustainable MEP Leaders, I’m just dropping in with a quick last call for Summit-Palooza registration! We have some sessions with recommended prep work, so now’s a great time to get signed up and read/watch these materials in advance. And in case you missed the first announcement, several of the sessions are approved for CEUs. There are still a few spots left, grab yours here! And a reminder that there is a heavily discounted rate available for anyone who needs it, no questions asked. Just email RoseAnn (roseann@buildinggreen.com). If you’re having trouble getting funding or maybe you even need to pay out of pocket, we’ve tried our best to make it so you can still attend. Hope to see you next week!
Jen & the BG team