The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti

📣 The Green Impact Report Quick take: This episode is a masterclass in modern construction sustainability. Nick 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 Nick Ndah is a commercial interiors and construction leader with deep experience spanning residential, industrial, and large-scale commercial projects. As head of the Architectural Solutions division at McCoy Rockford, he champions sustainable interior systems — from demountable partitions to adaptable wall and flooring solutions — that dramatically reduce waste and improve long-term building performance. Rooted in a family construction background, Nick brings a practical, resource-first mindset to green building, simplifying complex sustainability concepts for architects, designers, and clients. He also serves on the board of Camp for All, supporting barrier-free outdoor experiences for children and adults with diverse needs. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Nick Ndah revolutionizes traditional construction approaches: 🔍 Key Insight #1: Treat Material Waste as a Financial & Sustainability Failure Point The Challenge: Traditional construction accepts material waste (drywall, timber, paint, surplus materials) as unavoidable — costing money and increasing environmental footprint. The Solution: Nick applies fiscal thinking to sustainability: every unused material is lost value. He pushes for recycling, adaptive reuse, and eliminating waste at the source. ROI: Lower project costs, reduced landfill impact, smarter resource planning, and a cultural shift toward efficiency in construction teams. 🧨 Key Insight #2: Replace Drywall With Modular, Reusable Architectural Solutions The Challenge: Drywall is waste-heavy, inflexible, dust-producing, and difficult to adapt in buildings pursuing LEED, WELL, or modern interior quality goals. The Solution: Nick advocates for demountable partitions, modular glass, specialty paneling, and adaptable interior systems that reduce waste and improve long-term flexibility. His personal mission: "eliminate as much drywall as possible." ROI: Massive waste reduction, better air quality, lower embodied carbon, ease of reconfiguration, and long-term durability that supports green certifications. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Designing Healthy, Adaptable Spaces Requires Simplicity & Education The Challenge: Many project teams understand "green" conceptually but feel overwhelmed by certification requirements, acoustics, air quality, or material health. The Solution: Nick simplifies complexity — educating clients, architects, and contractors so they understand sustainability goals without getting lost in technical layers. ROI: Faster decisions, better alignment across teams, higher-performing interiors, and improved outcomes in acoustic quality, daylighting, and user experience. 🎙️ Sustainable Soundbite "If we get down to a base level of understanding of what we're trying to achieve, productivity turns into real progress." – Nick Ndah 📈 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Identify one material or process where you can eliminate unnecessary waste — especially heavy offenders like drywall or excess framing. This Quarter: Pilot a modular or demountable system on a project to reduce carbon, dust, and long-term waste. This Year: Build an internal sustainability playbook that simplifies LEED/WELL requirements so every subcontractor knows exactly what to do. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/ 🗒 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Nick Ndah: Website: https://www.mccoyrockford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-ndah-pmp/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe ♻️ Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2× a week. 👉 Subscribe to our FREE newsletter: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

📣 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 Sustainability Champion Helen is an experienced Sustainability Consultant that joined Cosentini Associates in 2010. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Management Systems from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Design & Environmental Analysis: Interior Design from Cornell University. She came to Cosentini with experience in architectural design, including sustainability research and code analysis. Since joining Cosentini, Helen has lead numerous projects across the US and abroad through green building certifications and incentives, including mixed-use developments, core and shell office buildings, residential high-rises, hotels, libraries, corporate and institutional campuses, and commercial interior fit-outs. She specializes in finding the best sustainability strategy for complex projects, as well as shepherding projects and teams that are new to sustainability through the process of certification. She has also lead internal and external education around sustainability and developed tools to streamline Cosentini's sustainability consulting practice. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Helen Rubinstein shows how sustainability moves faster when it's built into the project from day one — not bolted on at the end: 🧨 Key Insight #1: LEED v5 is a chance to level-up — not just "re-certify." The Challenge: Teams treat new LEED versions like a paperwork update instead of a strategy shift. The Solution: Helen's team is proactively educating clients + internal engineering teams now — especially around new emphasis areas like resiliency and accessibility. ROI: Fewer surprises, smoother compliance, better occupant outcomes, and stronger market positioning. 🧰 Key Insight #2: The earlier sustainability is integrated, the cheaper it gets. The Challenge: Bringing sustainability in late forces redesigns, add-ons, and frustration. The Solution: Get involved as early as possible to shape programming and early decisions — so you're not "changing things later," you're guiding the plan. ROI: Lower redesign costs, fewer schedule impacts, and better performance baked into the base design. 📣 Key Insight #3: Win the construction team, and you win the building. The Challenge: Sustainability can be seen as an "extra" that slows down construction. The Solution: Helen learned to coordinate within construction timelines by understanding field priorities/constraints — and translating sustainability into what works on site. ROI: Faster collaboration, fewer conflicts, and real-world execution (not just a pretty checklist). 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "You don't have to have every answer — be the one willing to go figure it out." — Helen Rubinstein 📈 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Start every kickoff with one question: "Where do we need sustainability involved before design decisions lock?" (Then get in that meeting.) This Quarter: Prep your team/client for LEED v5 by identifying likely new gaps (resiliency, accessibility, documentation, internal standards). This Year: Pick one "beyond less harm" goal — pilot a regenerative-minded move (materials, water, biodiversity, carbon) — and document the playbook for repeat projects. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/ 🗒 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Helen Rubinstein: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-r-b6ba022b/ Website: https://www.cosentini.com/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe ♻️ Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. 👉 Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🌋 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, principal at NRG-AR, and co-founder of Green Certification Consultants. Since 2007, he has certified over 100 Green Building projects across 12 countries as a sustainability and well-being consultant and Commissioning Agent. In his role as an educator, Andres currently teaches at two universities, reviews theses for international students, and serves as a trainer for GBCI's EDGE certification across Latin America. Andres co-founded and acted as secretary-general for the Argentine chapter of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) and served as a member of the LEED International Roundtable. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Andres rewires how we think about certifications, commissioning, and culture in green building: 🧠 Key Insight #1: Commissioning + Certification Is a Long-Term Performance Engine The Challenge: In many markets, the LEED consultant and commissioning agent are separate, leading to gaps between design intent and real-world performance — and a "set it and forget it" mindset. The Solution: Andres' team delivers both LEED consulting and commissioning, staying deeply involved with HVAC, lighting, and controls so the building actually works for occupants long after opening day. ROI: Fewer warranty calls, better comfort, and systems that perform for decades instead of just for the ribbon-cutting — turning "green design" into durable, resilient operations. 🧰 Key Insight #2: Stack Rating Systems to Unlock Human-Centric Value The Challenge: Clients often see sustainability as a single certification box to check, missing health, waste, and mobility opportunities. The Solution: Andres guides clients to layer systems — like a Sanofi project that achieved four certifications (LEED, WELL, Fitwel, TRUE Zero Waste), plus tools like Active-Score to elevate mobility and access for everyone, including cleaning staff and security guards. ROI: Stronger ESG stories, healthier and more equitable workplaces, and deeper resource savings across energy, waste, and well-being — value that goes far beyond energy models. 🧩 Key Insight #3: Make Sustainability Affordable, Local, and Built to Last The Challenge: In Latin America, incentives and financing vary by country, and many teams still treat sustainability as a "fad" or expensive add-on. The Solution: Andres combines global tools (LEED, WELL, Fitwel, TRUE, EDGE) with local realities — focusing on resilience in healthcare and schools, hydrogen and energy in industry, micro-grids for residential, and indoor air quality for commercial spaces, while making certifications financially and technically accessible. ROI: Projects that actually happen — platinum-level buildings in rural Argentina, cross-continent work in Chile, France, the U.S., and Papua New Guinea — and a new generation of students who see sustainability as part of their identity, not a side project. 🎙️ Sustainable Soundbite "Don't give up. Keep your dreams alive. The start is going to be rough, but in the end your achievements will shine." – Andres Schwarz 🧗‍♂️ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Identify one active project where commissioning and certification are siloed. Bring those teams together for a 30-minute sync focused on long-term performance: warranty reduction, comfort, and real-world energy savings. This Quarter: Pilot a multi-certification strategy on a flagship project—pair LEED with WELL, Fitwel, TRUE, or ActiveScore. Build a simple one-page value case that highlights human health, mobility, and zero-waste benefits alongside energy. This Year: Choose one typology you touch often (healthcare, schools, industrial, residential, or commercial) and develop a resilience + decarbonization playbook for it — include micro- grids or shared energy where relevant, and bake indoor air quality or well-being metrics into your standard scope. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/ 🗒 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Andres Schwarz: Website: Green Certification Consultants LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-schwarz-4233705/ Books: Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe ♻️ Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. 👉 Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

🧨 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 Site Technologies, a company rethinking how facility owners manage building exteriors. Austin is an entrepreneurial leader working to drive technology and innovation into old industries. Combining his love for technology, construction, and business growth, Austin brings a new perspective to the construction world. Always interested in entrepreneurship more than academics, Austin started his first business as a freshman in high school mowing lawns for as many neighbors he could sell. After 2 years of mowing lawns, Austin could invest in some larger equipment that would allow him to begin grading and snow plowing driveways and parking lots throughout the remainder of high school and college. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Austin Rabine revolutionizes traditional construction approaches: 🧠 Key Insight #1: Drones and AI are unlocking scalable, data-driven facility management. The Challenge: Facility owners with hundreds or thousands of locations lack consistent, scalable insights on exterior conditions like pavements, roofs, and facades. The Solution: Site Technologies captures drone imagery and uses AI to detect defects, creating objective, high-res condition reports that inform maintenance priorities. ROI: Reduces unnecessary inspections and travel, cuts capital waste by up to 30%, and improves safety by minimizing on-roof inspections. 🧠 Key Insight #2: Timing maintenance right prevents compounding costs — and carbon. The Challenge: Repairs are often reactive, done too late when damage is worse, costlier, and more resource-intensive to fix. The Solution: Site's "Cost to Wait" tool quantifies how deferring maintenance accelerates degradation and increases long-term costs. ROI: Empowers smarter, proactive decision-making that minimizes environmental impact and maximizes asset lifespan. 🧠 Key Insight #3: Local drone pilots + AI beat boots on the ground for sustainability and speed. The Challenge: Traditional site visits require carbon-heavy travel and are inconsistent, slow, and subjective. The Solution: Site deploys local pilots and remote sensing to reduce travel emissions and deliver standardized reports at scale. ROI: Lowers GHG emissions tied to inspections, eliminates redundant site visits, and delivers better data in less time. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "We're eliminating 20–30% of waste in capital spend. That's real sustainability — doing less work, at the right time, with better results." – Austin Rabine 🧩 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Audit your existing building inspection workflows. Are they scalable, consistent, and sustainable? This Quarter: Pilot AI-based assessments on exterior elements — roof, pavement, facade — to prioritize proactive maintenance. This Year: Integrate data-driven maintenance tools across your entire facility portfolio. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/ 📄 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Austin Rabine: Website: rabinegroup.com/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/austinrabine Personal: about.me/austinrabine 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 👉 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. 📬 Subscribe here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.

📣 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 is your roadmap. 🙋‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Theresa Lehman is one of the original LEED Fellows and a driving force in the Green Building movement across the Midwest. She grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin, studied construction management, and quickly became one of the first professionals to pilot LEED v2 in the region. Now at Miron Construction, she leads sustainability strategy across a $1.7B company and delivers award-winning schools, data centers, and manufacturing projects that set new benchmarks for health, energy, and carbon outcomes. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Theresa Lehman revolutionizes traditional construction approaches: 📌 Key Insight #1: Scaling LEED from Pilot to Powerhouse The Challenge: Construction industry waste and zero awareness of sustainable practices in the late 90s. The Solution: Theresa piloted LEED v2 on one of Wisconsin's first green government buildings, then joined the team that created the LEED exams and training workshops. ROI: Helped normalize LEED in commercial construction and advanced its national adoption. 📌 Key Insight #2: Schools as Engines of Health and Growth The Challenge: Traditional school buildings ignored occupant wellness and long-term community ROI. The Solution: Projects like Lake Mills Elementary (LEED v4 pilot) prioritized daylight, air quality, and biophilic design. ROI: 75% drop in asthma medication, 15% fewer absences, increased test scores — and new subdivisions opened to meet demand. 📌 Key Insight #3: The IRA Advantage for Net-Zero The Challenge: Budget limitations often block net-zero designs in public school systems. The Solution: Leveraged the Inflation Reduction Act for Menasha Maplewood Intermediate & Middle School, funding PV systems and energy upgrades. ROI: $5.3M in support, net-zero electricity, and on track to be the largest verified zero-net-energy middle school in the U.S. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite "Movement doesn't happen individually — it happens in groups." — Theresa Lehman 🧗‍♂️ Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Audit your team's waste diversion efforts — start with the job site dumpster. This Quarter: Evaluate IRA funding or local incentives for energy or health upgrades. This Year: Target a net-zero pilot school or municipal project and build a dream team. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/ 🗒 Read the transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Theresa Lehman: Website: miron-construction.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresalehmanleedfellow/ 🎧 Missed her first appearance? Go listen to: How to Inspire Sustainability Throughout a Large Construction Company (Ep. 164 | March 17, 2021) 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe ♻️ Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. 👉 Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.