Feb 15, 2023 – 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm EST online
 The real estate sector currently accounts for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Seventy percent are produced by building operations (heating, cooling, lighting, appliances), while the remaining 30% comes from construction. Moreover, population growth and urbanization are precipitating unprecedented global building construction, according to a 2022 United Nations study. In the face of climate change, the societal ecosystem is responding with business, technology, and policy solutions. For example, retrofitting existing buildings and the choices about the types of structures built and the materials used in new construction will have significant implications for the real estate sector’s future carbon footprint. What solutions are working? What new solutions are being proposed? In this 60-minute webinar, Smita Chandra Thomas, founder of Energy Shrink and the instructor for GWU’s online course on Decarbonizing Buildings, convenes a discussion of CRE business, technology, and policy decarbonization solutions available and what is on the horizon with Kimberly Pexton of JBG SMITH and Billy Grayson from the Urban Land Institute. This webinar is part of the GWU Energy Resilience Certificate Program curriculum. SSF subscribers are invited to participate. MEET THE PANEL |
 Smita Chandra ThomasSmita is the GWU Building Decarbonization Instructor and the founder and principal at Energy Shrink, a consulting practice in Washington, DC focused on techno-economic analyses and demand-side management strategies for path-breaking green buildings, programs, and policy.. |
| Billy Grayson Billy is the Executive Vice President of Centers and Initiatives at the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization that focuses on land use, real estate and urban development. As the EVP for Centers and Initiatives,he oversees ULI’s Sustainability, Housing, Infrastructure, and Real Estate Economics and Capital Markets programs. . |  |
| Kimberly Pexton Ms. Pexton is a Senior Vice President and Head of Sustainability at JBG SMITH. She has over 25 years of experience in sustainability, climate change resilience, environmental policy, green building rating systems, and building science. She is leading the development and execution of JBG SMITH’s sustainability strategy with integration across all business units and external ESG reporting |
