Presenters:

Geof Syphers, Chief Sustainability Officer, P.E., LEED® AP, Codding Enterprises, Rohnert Park, CA

Greg Searle, Executive Director, BioRegional North America, Ottowa, ON

Andrea Traber, Director of Green Building, LEED AP,  KEMA

Elizabeth Durney, Project Manager, LEED AP, KEMA Green Building Services

Convener:

Ralph DiNola, Green Building Services, Portland, OR

Click Here to download the presentations from this session!

What would motivate a developer to commit to reducing total greenhouse gas emissions from a development by an additional 74% beyond typical LEED Platinum performance?

This awkward fact: If everyone lived as we do in the United States, we would need 5.3 planets to support us.

This presentation describes how Sonoma Mountain Village plans to meet both LEED-ND Platinum and the requirements of the international One Planet Communities program, highlighting ways that One Planet Communities extends the reach and impact of LEED-ND.

One Planet Communities requires the use of regional best practices, which must include LEED in the U.S. Performance-based goals, such as zero greenhouse gas emissions from building energy, must also be set. Participating developers must develop strategies to nurture sustainable behaviors amongst residents through an integrated lifestyles program, factoring in diverse impacts as food and air travel.  The end goal: reducing the ecological footprint of the entire neighborhood to a truly sustainable, one planet level.

Codding’s development at Sonoma Mountain Village – a 200-acre, 1900-unit planned mixed-use re-development - recently became the first in North America to earn the One Planet Communities endorsement.

This case study examines the holistic strategies for buildings, infrastructure and lifestyles that will allow 6,500 residents and commercial tenants to reduce their ecological footprint by 87% over a typical neighborhood.

Presenter Bios

Geof Syphers
Geof joined Codding Enterprises in 2006 to drive the company’s new environmental initiative. Geof’s responsibilities include managing the development and implementation of Codding’s sustainability policies and providing guidance to support environmental goals on development, construction and property management. He currently heads our effort on becoming a Once Planet Community and certifying Sonoma Mountain Village under the US Green Building Council’s LEED® Green Building rating system for Neighborhood Development. Geof is a registered mechanical engineer, a LEED® Accredited Professional and holds a B.S. in Applied Physics and an M.S. in Energy Engineering.

Greg Searle
Greg is responsible for building partnerships to create One Planet Communities in Canada and the United States. He is an experienced facilitator and entrepreneur, and leads teams in the development of Sustainability Action Plans and Green Lifestyle programs. Greg has been deeply engaged in brining SMV into the One Planet Community, facilitated the One Planet charrettes, and visits the site regularly. Greg has provided presentations and keynote speeches at over 50 conferences around the world. He has been a guest lecturer on sustainability at Ryerson University (Toronto) and Texas A&M University, and presented at GreenBuild 2006. Greg has also been invited to address such prestigious bodies as the US Senate sub-committee on Knowledge Management (2004), and the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Quadrennial Congress in Amman, Jordan (2001). Greg previously served as a consultant to the United Nations (FAO - Rome), the World Conservation Union (IUCN - Brussels), the International Development Research Centre, and Industry Canada. He is also the co-founder of award-winning knowledge management firm Tomoye Corporation and inventor of its enterprise software.

Click here to listen to Greg Searle's presentation podcast.

Andrea Traber
Andrea is the Director of Green Building with KEMA, a global energy efficiency and green building consulting firm.  She has over 15 years experience as a licensed architect and green building consultant and has been involved in a wide variety of green building, planning and over 40 LEED projects.  Her direct experience includes design of green building, technical consulting on energy, renewable power, water, green building materials, indoor environmental quality, and landscape practices with building owners, design teams, and public agencies.  Andrea is heading up the LEED ND process for the SMV project.

Click here to listen to Andrea Traber's presentation podcast.

Elizabeth Durney
Elizabeth is a project manager and senior LEED consultant in KEMA’s Green Building Group. Ms. Durney manages LEED documentation and green building rating system development projects, leading design and construction teams through the LEED process from the eco-charrette through final certification. By working on over 25 LEED projects, Ms. Durney has gained in depth experience with many LEED systems including LEED-NC, CS, CI, ND and EB. Ms. Durney teaches educational seminars on green building, climate change, and other LEED-related topics, is managing the update to the GreenPoint Multifamily Guidelines, GreenPoint for Existing Homes and Climate Calculator projects for StopWaste.Org and Build it Green. As a board member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Redwood Empire Chapter and a member of the USGBC Pacific Regional Council, Ms. Durney is very involved in the USGBC chapter development and growth process. Ms Durney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Macalester College, is a LEED A.P. and has been trained in the Green Point Rated system. Elizabeth is managing the LEED ND details for Sonoma Mountain Village.

Click here to listen to Elizabeth Durney's presentation podcast.

Ralph DiNola
Ralph Dinola serves as a green building consultant and project manager on numerous LEED™ registered projects. He has extensive experience with the LEED documentation process and the costs associated with green building. He also assists in conceptual design for green building strategies, green product specifications, and project feasibility studies, as well as plan and specification analysis for projects seeking LEED certification. Ralph specializes in green building workshops, the facilitation of eco-charrettes, as well as delivering the LEED Advanced Training Workshop as a LEED Advanced Faculty member. Ralph has over 10 years of experience as a designer and historic preservation specialist. He was project manager for LEED documentation for the Ecotrust Natural Capital Center, the first LEED Gold certified historic renovation in the U.S. He was also instrumental in developing LEED documentation for Viridian Place, the first LEED certified building in the Pacific NW. While working as a historic preservation specialist with the National Park Service (NPS), Ralph helped to preserve and restore more than 50 architecturally significant structures. While at Roger Williams University, Ralph was also honored with the Historic Preservation Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement.

Audio edited by http://h2opodcast.com.