Louise Barfield’s Post

Data, Data everywhere...enough to make Sustainability leaders despair! Excited to be attending two key industry events this month in #ESG & #Sustainability. We feel it is vital to be involved in forums, conferences and discussions to actively participate in defining and driving meaningful and quantifiable sustainability efforts in Australia. The more we learn about learn about unique #data challenges in Sustainability, the more we customise our approach to align a single source of truth. So, if you plan to be there, be sure to say hello  👋 Here is more information about these events: ➡ This week (Wed 14) I am at the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) in #Melbourne which will focus on: - Decarbonisation - Resilience - Circular economy - Rail’s contribution to sustainable development - Technology and innovation - Sustainable construction practices. ➡ Next week (Fri 23) I head to the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Climate Governance forum in #Sydney, which will focus on connecting directors and senior business leaders to discuss their roles in addressing climate change. From mandatory reporting to transition planning, this is the go-to event for directors, leaders and board members across all verticals to stay up-to-date in this rapidly evolving field.

USGBC Announces 2024 LEED for Cities Leadership Program Cohort Partnership with Bank of America Supports Achievement of Local Government Sustainability Goals with LEED for Cities "2024 cohort of 12 cities selected to participate in its LEED for Cities Local Government Leadership Program. The program helps local governments set goals, collect data, and validate performance against sustainability and quality of life metrics using the LEED for Cities rating system, revolutionizing the way cities and communities are planned, developed, and operated to improve their overall sustainability and quality of life." The 2024 cohort of cities represents a combined population of nearly five million people. The cities are: Boca Raton, Florida Carrollton, Texas Coral Springs, Florida El Paso, Texas Gainesville, Florida Gary, Indiana Jacksonville, Florida La Crosse, Wisconsin New Orleans, Louisiana Overland Park, Kansas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania St. Petersburg, Florida "In addition to the national leadership cohort, the Local Government Leadership Program includes regional leadership summits intended to deepen engagement with local governments on a range of green building and sustainable development topics. It has also established LEED for Cities Accelerators to assist local governments new to LEED for Cities with collecting data, benchmarking sustainability performance, and navigating the certification program." #LEED #sustainability #greenbuilding State of Texas State of Florida State of Kansas State of Louisiana State of Wisconsin Department of State Pennsylvania State of Indiana

Pleased to share that the City of Gary, Indiana, within our region, is one of 12 cities across the US selected to participate in 2024 Cohort of U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Cities Local Government Leadership Program. The program helps local governments set goals, collect data and validate performance against #sustainability and quality of life metrics using the #LEED for Cities rating system, revolutionizing the way cities and communities are planned, developed and operated. Read on: https://lnkd.in/gcgtWYnz cc U.S. Green Building Council - U.S. Market Insights

We are thrilled to announce that the York Region (The Regional Municipality of York) has been recognized for significantly contributing to the reduction of embodied carbon. At the Embodied Carbon Awards, York Region received an Honourable Mention in the Organizational & Public Sector Leadership category from the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF Toronto | Carbon Leadership Forum & CLF Ottawa | Carbon Leadership Forum hubs). GHD’s team developed a GHG analysis framework for the Region, addressing the upfront embodied carbon of construction and operating phase emissions for water and wastewater infrastructure. Their pioneering efforts have significantly impacted the industry by introducing embodied carbon considerations into the water sector. Reducing embodied carbon is crucial for addressing climate change. Learn more from the Carbon Leadership Forum: https://lnkd.in/e2Mmpykw York Region team: Kelly Spitzig, Lara Marchetti, Jose Enrico Manalo, Pina Accardi GHD team: Sara Ford, Greg Carli, Ben Gerber, Aby Sabzwari, Jeremy Kraemer #Sustainability #EmbodiedCarbon #GHGReduction #GHD

If we want to live in a world where people and planet thrive, then our infrastructure must be inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. This requires a new way of working, with collaboration across sectors and geographies. These characteristics shape a Resilience Champion: an initiative launched in 2023 to honour those who are building for a cleaner and greener world. The first cohort form a new community of leaders who have demonstrated the positive impacts their projects have on our planet. Meet the ICE’s first Resilience Champions: https://lnkd.in/eaTMu2Bi #Sustainability #ResilientInfrastructure #CivilEngineering

🌍 Shaping a Greener Tomorrow: Commonwealth Sustainability Agenda 🌱💡 Join us at the World Woman Commonwealth Agenda for an enlightening session on the Commonwealth Sustainability Agenda, where global leaders will tackle the urgent challenges and opportunities surrounding climate action, economic growth, and sustainable development. Moderated by Justin Rowlatt, BBC Climate Editor, this critical discussion brings together thought leaders and sustainability champions to explore how the Commonwealth can lead the way in building a resilient and sustainable future. 🌟 UnniKrishnan Divakaran Nair, Head of Climate Change at the Commonwealth Secretariat, will share insights on shaping climate policies that drive economic and youth development across Commonwealth nations. 🌟 Dr Nitya Mohan Khemka, Climate Change Expert from the University of Cambridge, will provide a deep dive into the science and socio-economic impact of climate change, and how innovation can drive meaningful solutions. 🌟 Scott Davies of ISS UK & Ireland, will offer a corporate perspective on sustainable business practices and how industries can align with environmental goals to create lasting global impact. This session will explore how cross-sector collaboration, policy innovation, and community-driven approaches can foster a sustainable future for all Commonwealth nations. Be part of this crucial dialogue on the front lines of global sustainability! 📅 Date: October 14 🏛 Location: UK House of Lords, London #WorldWoman #CommonwealthSustainability #ClimateAction #GreenEconomy #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateLeadership #FutureOfThePlanet #SustainabilityInAction #EcoInnovation #ResilientFuture

I've spent some time with Mark Kaplan recently and realised that whether or not executives believe in climate change, important costly implications for day to day business strategy and management risk must be overseen at Board level. The question is where does climate accountability for Boards begin? It all seems so overwhelming.   Chapter Zero is delivering their next of their monthly Learning Events on Thursday 23rd May, 16h30 to 18h00. The focus of this event is the most important baseline principle of the entire Chapter Zero Curriculum, as all the subsequent events cumulatively add layers onto this.   ‘CLIMATE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BOARDS AND BUSINESS LEADERSHIP’   Dr Jess Schulschenk of The Embedding Project is presenter, and alongside her as Keynote Guest Prof. Bonang Mohale, Chapter Zero Southern Africa Director and Chair of the Strategy Committee.   This will be a hybrid event : In person hosted at Wits Business School, with networking and refreshments after the event. Virtual event connected through the Zoom link below : https://lnkd.in/e8XpJqzK Meeting ID: 956 4186 0959 Passcode: 662538   Chapter Zero welcomes and appreciate your attendance in our collective efforts to capacitate and mobilize for meaningful sustainability and climate action.   The attached invitation provides detail on the agenda to be covered in the event.   Please sign up to attend using the link in the invitation below or contact MARK KAPLAN, Chief Executive Officer, Chapter Zero Southern Africa, emjaykay@tiscali.co.za, emjaykay@mweb.co.za, mark@chapterzerosouthernafrica.org https://lnkd.in/eBxy8575 M +27 82 552 7509 ABOUT - Chapter Zero Southern Africa is a Chapter of the Climate Governance Initiative – developed in collaboration with the World Economic Forum – and has shared its experience with new and emerging directors’ climate forums around the world. Together, the Climate Governance Initiative (the Initiative) Chapters are supporting NEDs around the world to help address climate considerations in the boardroom. #investorrelations

I agree Mike Kovacs, events in the US last week are definitely a cause for anxiety. However, I might offer a small ray of hope, neatly combined with a plug for our latest publication... We are proposing a 12 step action plan to create an enabling environment for #netzerobuildings. We're basing our proposals on existing policies and initiatives, and it's surprising how many of those precedents stem from US cities. Local Law 97 in New York City is probably the best known - any New York building breaching it's operational carbon limit from 2025 will be subject to quite a punitive carbon tax. And there are similar things going on in Washington DC and Seattle among others. Read more here https://lnkd.in/ep-_5yJU

USGBC’s strategic imperatives are key organizational strategies to advance our mission. We have identified five strategic imperatives to guide our work from 2024 to 2026: 1. Expand the global green building community of practice and its influence. 2. Accelerate the role of buildings in decarbonizing economies and promoting equitable, healthy, and resilient communities. 3. Align green building with frameworks and technologies driving equitable systems change and market transformation at scale. 4. Ensure access to green building for under-resourced populations and all communities. 5. Achieve organizational excellence and effectiveness.

You’ve heard of LEED-certified buildings, right? Looks like full cities can now get certified! So interested to see how this goes because city-level change is bigger than building-level change. A city is a much more complicated system than an individual building’s system.