“Green” may be a positive buzzword today, but it was an adverse term 20 years ago when visionary David Gottfried pioneered the green building movement. Gottfried’s accomplishments in changing building practices are intrinsic to the industry’s lingo, making green terminology a common language for today’s contractors.
Gottfried’s résumé is certainly impressive. He founded the U.S. Green Building Council in April 1993, took it globally when he launched the World Green Building Council in 1999, established the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system in late 1993, formed his own consulting
company, WorldBuild Technologies, Inc., in 1995, and served on the State of California’s first Green Building Council from 1998 to 2002.
A frequent lecturer and published author of numerous articles, Gottfried currently is embarking on several new projects as well as writing his second book. His first, Greed to Green, chronicles his journey from self-proclaimed greedy real estate developer to founder of the green building movement.
Gottfried, 47, who graduated from Stanford University with a degree in engineering and resource management, was a highly successful developer in Washington, D.C., when the real estate market crashed in the early 1990s. “When the building bubble popped, my spirit also popped,” he says. “I had an epiphany in 1991. I had invested 10 years in real estate and was looking for more. I felt the need to get on another path that was more value-based.”
Gottfried founded and served as president of the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), which today has almost 75 regional chapters and approximately 13,000 members from all sectors of the building industry.
Was it a struggle to get his ideas for change accepted? “Oh, absolutely,” Gottfried says. “It was like pushing a heavy ball uphill. It’s now a flood of success, but it wasn’t for many years. I felt like quitting, but I had support from other visionaries. The standard organizations and associations didn’t like me.”
Gottfried’s vision for USGBC emphasized change and transformation, aligning nature’s values with building industry standards. He wanted the industry to be concerned about resources, fresh air, clear water and healthy spaces.
He later founded the World GBC (worldgbc.org), which currently has councils in 12 countries and is set to launch in 40 more countries. “The most important councils are in India, China (recently established) and South Africa. Others are being formed in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan and Australia,” says Gottfried. “The green movement is only three percent of where we need to go,” he continues. “China and India are important, because the U.S. is not going to dictate the future of the world like those countries.”
Gottfried was instrumental in developing the LEED certification system, the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that building projects (commercial and residential) are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. The guidelines help designers, builders and building owners implement sustainable designs for their projects.
As of December, public and commercial projects registered with LEED totaled 9,000.
“The USGBC, WGBC and LEED are not just about transforming, but also about finding spirits who are changing and connecting with others,” Gottfried says.
Gottfried is president of WorldBuild Technologies (worldbuild.com), a firm that serves as a sustainable development consultant for many building organizations and development projects, such as the state of California, the cities of Santa Monica and San Diego, the U.S. Navy, Stanford University, College of Marin, Montana State University, the Los Angeles Unified School District and DeAnza-Foothill Community College. Private sector clients include Westfield, Starbucks, DreamWorks, Williams-Sonoma, Yahoo, Genentech, Carrier and Johnson Controls.
In 2006, Gottfried received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Institute of Architecture and, in 2005, was named one of the top 25 industry newsmakers by McGraw-Hill’s ENR Magazine.
How does he get these industries to listen to his message? “There are many different ways, including the press, other media resources and educational conferences. I’d like to be on Oprah,” he says. “I’d like to hear ‘Oprah’s going green.’” Gottfried wants to extend the LEED concept to encompass a personal rating system for life. “We need an ecological scale for life’s footprint to learn if you would earn a scarlet letter or a medal.” These self-evaluation criteria would examine your social life, health and economic security.
This is a man who practices what he preaches. He just purchased a 1,350-squarefoot 1915 Bungalow Craftsman home in Oakland and is renovating it green. In addition, “I don’t need a car; I’m close to BART,” he says.
What’s next? Gottfried is crafting a new company, Regenerative Ventures, which will invest in green firms, such as those that provide solar systems and prefab housing. He’s communicating digitally with a Web blog of his ideas, and also is writing his next book. “My story in Greed to Green stops in 2002, and it’s now six years later,” he says. He plans to publish Sparks of Light on his Web site as he writes, rather than wait a year or more for it to be published conventionally.
Another goal is to scale back his travels so that he can spend more time with his wife and children, ages three and eight. “In 2007, I was running all over the world. I received invitations to launch councils in Israel, the United Kingdom and Australia. My hope is to publish more and upload my speeches on the Web,” Gottfried says.
Gottfried doesn’t have a staff. “I’ve remained solo for a long time,” he says. “I don’t sit back and celebrate accomplishments. I’m more of a caveman type, more of an inventor who goes out to the garage to develop something new.”
His most satisfying accomplishments are founding the Green Building Council and the growth of the World GBC to include thousands of people in 40 countries. According to Gottfried, “The USBGC has done more for climate change than anything else.”
Gottfried’s mantra, he says, is asking, “Are we living a green life?” He doesn’t think so. “LEED, green building, hybrid cars and other products are not enough. We have to get into the heart and soul of everybody and have all of them live a green life in their relationships to others.”
He concludes, “Social equity starts within. The missing pieces are humans and greening. The letter ‘e’ is missing from the word ‘human,’ and, if green isn’t humane to all, then it’s not green.” •
