The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: The wine industry produces mountains of packaging waste most people never see. Megan Hernandez is proving that when vineyards collaborate, that "trash" can become a powerful lever for sustainability — and even revenue. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Megan Hernandez is a wine industry professional based in Sonoma County, California. With a backgro...

✅ The Green Impact Report Quick take: Electrification isn't just about swapping out equipment — it's about rethinking how buildings, transportation, and infrastructure work together. In this episode, Schneider Electric's Jordan Lerner shares how microgrids, fleet electrification, and creative funding strategies are transforming schools, cities, and public facilities. 🙋‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sustai...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: If you need to transform sustainability from an isolated department into a core business driver, this episode delivers the blueprint. Ethan Arbiser shows how to embed sustainability into daily real estate operations using resource optimization, AI, and high-visibility engagement strategies. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Ethan Arbiser is a Senior...

📣 The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode is a masterclass in modern construction sustainability. Nicholas Ndah breaks down how eliminating waste, rethinking materials, and simplifying project execution can radically improve both environmental impact and long-term building performance. 🙋‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Nicholas Ndah is a commercial interiors and construction...

📣 The Green Impact Report Quick take: LEED v5 is "around the corner," and Helen Rubinstein (Director of Sustainability at Cosentini Associates) explains what's changing — and how sustainability teams can get ahead by integrating earlier, speaking the construction team's language, and leaning into decarbonization mandates without losing the bigger regenerative vision. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainab...

🌋 The Green Impact Report Quick take: From Buenos Aires to Papua New Guinea, LEED Fellow and architect Andres Schwarz shows how to turn certifications, commissioning, and culture into long-term, resilient green performance — not just plaques on the wall. 🫂 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Andres is a sustainability professional, serving as a sustainability advisor, university educator, p...

🧨 The Green Impact Report Quick take: What if you could eliminate 30% of wasted facility capital spend without sending a single person on-site? Austin Rabine, CEO of Site Technologies, breaks down how AI-powered drone data is transforming exterior inspections, cutting costs, and driving sustainability at scale. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Austin Rabine is the co-founder and CEO of...

📣 The Green Impact Report Quick take: LEED Fellow Theresa Lehman is back on the podcast! Since her first episode in 2021, she's doubled down on big-impact projects — like delivering one of the largest net-zero middle schools in the U.S. and advising on next-gen data center sustainability. If you're navigating LEED v5, IRA funding, or how to scale sustainability within a large firm — this episode...

🧨 The Green Impact Report Quick take: From boutique eco-hotels to 540-hectare industrial parks, Juan Carlos Valenzuela Castañeda is helping Guatemala go green — by proving that regenerative, resilient, and human-centered design isn't just possible in Central America, it's thriving. Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Juan Carlos Valenzuela Castañeda is a LEED Fellow and architect based in Gu...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Umesh Atre shares a powerful journey from India to becoming a LEED Fellow and a sustainability leader at Parkhill. In this episode, he dives into how metrics-driven design, embodied carbon strategies, and infrastructure-focused sustainability are changing the green building landscape — especially in challenging regions like West Texas. 🙋‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow...

🎙️ The Green Impact Report Quick take: Zero carbon isn't a tech problem anymore — it's a business model problem. Fin MacDonald breaks down how developers can hit LEED Platinum + Zero Carbon goals by shifting costs smartly, partnering creatively, and treating finance like an ally instead of a villain. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Fin MacDonald is a newly minted LEED Fellow and zero-c...

🧨 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Alicia Silva Villanueva is back! In this powerful follow-up episode, the renowned sustainability leader from Mexico shares lessons from greening iconic places like Estadio Azteca for the FIFA World Cup, redefining resilience in hospitality, and writing the playbook to inspire the next generation of changemakers. 😎 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Ali...

The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode shines a light on how youth advocacy and sustainability education are creating ripple effects in the green building world. Julia Pooler shares how empowering children with the right tools and mindset today can shape the carbon-zero leaders of tomorrow. Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Julia Pooler is the executive director of the Carbon Zero...

📌 The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode explores how data-driven design can shift the building industry toward true decarbonization. Jack Rusk, co-founder of C Scale, shares how better data at the right time empowers architects and project teams to make real progress toward carbon reduction goals. 🙋 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Jack Rusk is the CEO and Co-Founder of C Scal...

📣 The Green Impact Report Quick take: From decarbonization strategies to student-centric campus design, this episode with LEED Fellow Allison Wilson is a masterclass in sustainability leadership for mission-driven institutions. 👷‍♂️ Meet Your fellow Sustainability Champion Allison Wilson is a newly inducted LEED Fellow and architect at Ayers Saint Gross, where she champions sustainable, student-...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: What does it really take to deliver LEED Platinum projects across the Middle East and Africa — at scale, in extreme climates, and without blowing budgets? Newly minted LEED Fellow Dr. Hoda Ibrahim shares how impact-driven sustainability, material transparency, and market transformation are reshaping the built environment worldwide. 👷‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sust...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: From rural Peru to the skyline of Austin, Texas, Julio Carrillo shares how planners can be powerful sustainability changemakers. In this episode, learn how a LEED Fellow is pushing the green building movement beyond buildings — and into data-driven, community-scale transformation. 👷‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Julio Carrillo is a Peruvian-bor...

🌍 The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode matters to green building professionals because it shines a spotlight on how grid-interactive buildings and HVAC optimization can eliminate energy waste, generate new revenue, and play a crucial role in decarbonization — right now. 👷 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Brad Pilgrim is the founder and CEO of Parity, a Series B company pionee...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: How can we protect people as our buildings face hotter climates and evolving chemical risks? Dr. Christa Wright from UL's Chemical Insights Research Institute shares how predictive science, empathy in research, and bio-based solutions are shaping the future of healthier indoor environments. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Dr. Christa Wright is the...

🌍 The Green Impact Report Quick take: In this episode, Federico Steinvorth, a newly inducted LEED Fellow from Costa Rica, shares how he's championing sustainable building practices across Central America through early project integration, renewable energy, and a strong focus on community engagement. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Federico Steinvorth is an engineer, marathon runner, a...

🌍 The Green Impact Report Quick take: From authentic storytelling to biophilic design and grassroots sustainability, Giuli Ann Schacht shows how creative thinking and a deep respect for nature can transform communities like High Point, NC — and how you can do the same. 👋 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Giuli Ann Schacht is a passionate creator, businesswoman, and advocate for biophilic...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode uncovers how acoustics, materials, and design intersect to create healthier, more sustainable buildings. Dana Pucillo shares how listening — in design, leadership, and innovation — is transforming interior environments for human wellness. 👋 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Dana Pucillo is the Vice President of the Acoustics Division at C...

📌 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Architect-turned-tech CEO Benjamin Glunz is reshaping the AEC industry by tackling inefficiency, waste, and legacy workflows. In this episode, he shares how platforms like BIMsmith® and Swatchbox® are making sustainability the standard — not the exception. 🤝 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Benjamin Glunz is the Founder and CEO of Anguleris, the comp...

🎯 The Green Impact Report Quick take: Maureen Waters is redefining what ESG looks like in commercial real estate. From legacy giants like Cushman & Wakefield to her current role as President at Measurabl, Maureen shares the hard-won insights that are helping decarbonize global portfolios — using data at a scale never seen before. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Maureen Waters is Presi...