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Kyoto Protocol and Climate Change. I was intrigued and started to travel the world attending conferences on climate change, carbon, renewable energy, green buildings, sustainability, etc. I felt like a kid again as I sat on the floor at some “standing room only” sessions, feverishly taking notes on the issues and challenges being discussed. The more I learned, the more invigorated I became so I started a small consulting company to link my finance skills to help attract investors into projects that help reduce carbon emissions. I’ve worked on solar, wind and energy efficiency projects. But, these days, I focus almost all of my time on green buildings as Vice Chair of the Korea Green Building Council. I am also Chair of a small foundation called “Re-Imagining Cities” that focus on the “Business Case for Green Buildings”.
“The more I think that I am not in control, the more interesting life gets.” What are these things all about? What are the advantages of green buildings? First of all, many confuse what green buildings are all about. And, rightfully so because green buildings can encompass so many things like energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner indoor air quality, healthier and increased productivity for the occupants, more natural daylighting, rainwater collection, reduction of wastes and so on. The green building trend is toward making our built environments (homes, offices, schools, hotels, residential, hospitals, etc.) to become healthier. Did you know that the air quality in many of our buildings is worse that the air outside?? And, did you know that the air quality can negatively impact our thinking (cognitive) processes? One of our major objectives at our
“Re-Imagining Cities” Foundation is to raise awareness of the benefits of green buildings and the risks of our existing buildings to citizens, businesses, NGO’s and the government. Why are sustainable cities important? We work very closely with three global organizations: (1) World Green Building Council, (2) Architecture 2030 and (3) Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, more commonly referred to as GRESB. We all have a shared vision for sustainable cities and a future powered by 100% renewable energy. • At the UNFCCC COP21 meetings in Paris last year, over 180 nations agreed that Climate Change was real and that we need to keep the planet’s temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius. In order to achieve this, over 50 global organizations led by the United Nations and the World Green Building Council adopted “Buildings Day” to recognize that we cannot achieve this target without reducing GHG emissions from our buildings (both existing building stock and new construction). • 75% of global energy consumption and GHG emissions stem from our cities. Cities are the problem; but, cities can also be the integral part of the solution. Architecture 2030 is a leading foundation helping cities develop roadmaps to zero emissions. For example, with Architecture 2030 assistance, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City will reduce 80% GHG emissions by 2050, along with dozens of other cities in the world. “Re-Imagining Cities” Foundation is working closely with Architecture 2030 to support Seoul City to develop a roadmap to reduce emissions. And, we are bringing in an online professional training series to help Korean architects design “Net Zero Energy” buildings more effectively. • GRESB provides an annual survey