Developing community, well-being,

and resilience in buildings

The Well-Behaved Building2014 CLIMATE, BUILDINGS AND BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM: SYNTHESIS REPORT

2014 CLIMATE, BUILDINGS AND BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM: SYNTHESIS REPORT

CLIMATE, MIND AND BEHAVIOR PROGRAM | climatechange@garrisoninstitute.org

JOHN MCILWAIN | Director

JENNIFER HAYDEN | Program Consultant

© Copyright Garrison Institute 2014

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ContentsBuild Trust, Build Relationships ......................................................................................6

Connect with Those You Serve ....................................................................................... 7

Integrate Art and Beauty ...................................................................................................8

Change Through Process ...................................................................................................9

Think in Systems ................................................................................................................... 10

Gather and Use Data Wisely ............................................................................................11

Take Time to Reflect ............................................................................................................12

Presentation Abstracts ...............................................................................................13-14

Program Sponsors ................................................................................................................15

2014 CLIMATE, BUILDINGS AND BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM: SYNTHESIS REPORT

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Those working to realize green goals in buildings are

also best poised to create the conditions for community

connection and empowerment that foster resilience.

Simply listening to residents or occupants and working to

create programs together will go a long way to fostering

community and implementing successful programs.

Integrating art and beauty and resource use feedback goes

even further.

It has become increasingly important to purposefully

slow down. Find time at work, and at home, to reflect

on successes and envision an inspiring, resilient future.

Ultimately, green building professionals can go beyond

simply supporting, to enhancing the health and wellbeing

of all building occupants.

The Garrison Institute convened its sixth annual

Climate, Buildings and Behavior Symposium in

October 2014. This diverse gathering brought

together real estate professionals from for-profit and

not-for-profit firms, building industry experts, city and

campus sustainability officers and behavior change

researchers from across the country to explore the science

and practice behind successful approaches for enhancing

sustainable practices, reducing energy consumption, and

significantly lowering the cost of operations in residential

and commercial buildings. The 2014 theme was “the well-

behaved building,” with the goal of developing community,

well-being, and resilience in buildings.

The Climate, Buildings and Behavior symposia have always

started from the premise that human behavior is the key

to achieving maximum operational efficiency for building

energy, water and waste flows. This year, the focus was

expanded to reflect a more systemic understanding of

what the challenges of climate change entail for all of us

who live and work in buildings. The result was a shift to

thinking through resilience.

Resilience is the ability to persist or even thrive following

a climate, or other, disruption. Fostering social resilience

is a process rooted in relationship and trust building

that happens when we engage in authentic dialogue.

Sustainability projects are the ideal conduit for fostering

resilience while also positively affecting natural resource

use and realizing bottom line savings in buildings. Social

science tells us that resilience develops through the

engagement process that defines successful sustainability

programs.

Climate, Buildings and Behavior

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This report synthesizes the presentations, discussions and insights generated during the 2014 Climate, Buildings

and Behavior Symposium held October 8-10 at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY. The ideas presented

here arose from the community of Symposium participants. The themes and bulleted points in this report are

a synthesis of participant comments. We gratefully acknowledge the 2014 Symposium participants and their

organizations:

Chelsea Albucher City of Sunrise, FL

Steven Bluestone Bluestone Organization

Erik Cathcart Earth Advantage

Barbara Ciesla Jones Lang LaSalle

Gina Ciganik Aeon

Jeni Cross Colorado State University

Tim Cummings West Side Federation for Senior & Supportive Housing

Alex Dews City of Philadelphia, PA

Simona D’Oca Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Jeffrey Domanski Courtney Strong Inc

Jessica Fischer City of Denver, CO

Natasha Franck Delos

Sarah Gibson BrandCool

Wendy Gordon 3P Partners

Julian Goresko University of Pennsylvania

Rachel Gutter Center for Green Schools, US Green Building Council

Tilly Hatcher Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, LLC

Susan Howe Colorado State University

Amy Johns Williams College

Michael Johnson-Chase Green City Force

Raymond Kaiser Stewart Engineering Consultants

Jessica Kisner American Institute of Architects New York

Nora Lavori Orleans Realty, LLC

John Lyons MetroPool

Adam Meier New Ecology Inc.

Michelle Mulcahy Enterprise Community Partners

Gay Nicholson Sustainable Tompkins

Nina Orville Abundant Efficiency

Elena Peltsman Aeon

John Petersen Oberlin College

Susan Peterson Foundation Communities

Howard Pollard Bluestone Organization

Ana Pumarol West Side Federation for Senior & Supportive Housing

Anne Rahikainen GreenFaith

Jennifer Reed Eden Housing

Cassidy Reimer Climate + Energy Project

Stephen Ritz Super Green Machine

Jonathan Rose Jonathan Rose Companies

Daniel Rosenberg Oberlin College

Sharon Salzberg Insight Meditation Society

Melanie Share US Green Building Council

Bill Struever Cross St Partners, LLC

Diane Szoller Green Energy London Co-operative

Gregg Thomas City and County of Denver, CO

Alexie Torres-Fleming Access Strategies Fund

Bice Wilson Syndicate Architecture

Kate Yoshida University of Illinois at Chicago

Andrew Zolli PopTech

The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the participating organizations. The Climate,

Mind and Behavior Program of the Garrison Institute assumes full responsibility for any errors or omissions

contained in this report.

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Build Trust, Build Relationships

“Trust and cooperation are core to the health of the system.” ANDREW ZOLLI, POPTECH

CHALLENGES OF BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

• Authentic interactions in organizations and between

organizations and clients are not the norm.

• Crisis may be the only test of relationship and trust

building.

• Some groups have been historically, purposefully

marginalized.

• Trust and relationship building at work are viewed as

superfluous or tangential.

• We don’t have a shared lexicon to talk about building

trust.

INSIGHTS ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

• Build networks of trust, rooted in generosity, before you

need them.

• Signal belonging early on in relationships.

• Visioning sessions are a good initial tool to build

long-term relationships.

• In every decision, think about equity.

Building resilience is about building a social fabric strong enough and creative enough to support us when a

climate, or other, disruption happens. Trust is at the heart of this fabric. When trust is strong, people are able

to think more nimbly and creatively, together. Authentic relationships built on trust and reciprocity allow

groups to make and meet green goals in office and apartment buildings; they also enable faster, more adaptive and

appropriate response to environmental catastrophes. Consciously working to foster sincere relationships is critical

for success in developing and meeting any building, block, or community sustainability plan.

“The operational savings do happen, but the real prize is the relationship you build with your tenants.”

BARBARA CIESLA, JONES LANG LASALLE

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Connect With Those You Serve

It is only possible to build and maintain solid

relationships if you have regular, meaningful, direct

interaction with those you serve. Whether you are

working in commercial or residential buildings, developing

a system for ongoing interaction with building occupants

is crucial. Direct face-to-face interaction is paramount,

but social media can be used effectively. The key to this

connection is conversation or dialogue, where building

occupants are listened to first and then programs are

jointly developed that candidly reflect their needs and

desires. Success in anything from an office composting

program to a building-wide energy challenge must be

rooted in the specificity of the particular building and its

occupants expressed interests and obstacles. Connecting

with those you serve regularly also allows for the formation

of a volunteer corps of green leaders and advocates,

significantly expanding capacity to make and meet green

goals.

CHALLENGES OF CONNECTING

• There is a tendency to view people as victims or targets,

not partners.

• The language we use to describe those we serve is often

violent, disempowering, or calculating.

• Scaling up personal connection is difficult; there are

capacity issues.

• Not everyone in an organization will be a good

communicator.

• Mining data and sharing reports is easier than talking to

people.

“It’s about creating the conditions for people to talk to each other and engage on climate issues.”SARAH GIBSON, BRANDCOOL

INSIGHTS ON CONNECTING

• Conversations are catalysts.

• Start sustainability conversations with an appeal to

common norms of place-attachment or identity.

• Ask people for their stories.

• Have building parties to celebrate even small retrofits or

green activities.

• Use social media interactively to keep dialogue going.

• Offer ‘lunch and learn’ green theme sessions for

commercial buildings.

“As hard as it is to build the physical space, this is

really going to be about our residents being leaders.”

GINA CIGINAK, AEON

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Integrate Art and Beauty

CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING ART AND BEAUTY

• Our culture has devalued the arts, they are often the first

thing cut in schools.

• It is difficult to assess the impact of art and beauty with

numbers, need to talk with residents.

• We don’t think about art or beauty in our own

workplaces.

• Some buildings structurally and physically support this

integration more than others.

“How can we create spaces of transformation, not spaces

that dehumanize?”ALEXIE TORRES FLEMING, ACCESS STRATEGIES FUND

INSIGHTS ON INTEGRATING BEAUTY

• Encourage the community in a building to create art for

their building.

• Thinking with beauty as a lens or a goal shifts the entire

development and engagement process.

• This is not necessarily a large cost to integrating art and

beauty especially when residents decide how to do this.

• The awe of a beautiful green building inspires hope.

“The real challenge is mixing the price per square foot with love and beauty.”RAYMOND KAISER, STEWART ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS

The arts are a strong catalyst for creating community,

and community is key to achieving green goals in

buildings. Fostering space for place-based art-making

and exhibition is a fun and engaging way to connect with

building occupants. Designating interior or exterior space

for community made or selected art can empower residents

to care for their buildings while developing relationships

with their neighbors. Art is also part of integrating beauty.

Beauty is not superfluous to green goals; living and working

in a beautiful building is uplifting, and encourages residents

to care for a building. Beauty is known to heal and to

create community. Integrating art and beauty positively

harnesses innate connection to place, uplifting residents and

strengthening the bonds that create resilience.

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Change Through Process

“Changing systems is a process, it is not a recipe you can follow.” JENI CROSS, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

CHALLENGES OF PROCESS BASED CHANGE

• Process-based behavior change programs cannot be

done quickly or inexpensively.

• Templates are tempting but not effective.

• Information is necessary for behavior change but it is not

sufficient.

• Social scientists, the experts in this field, are often not

consulted.

• Trying to do too much, too quickly results in program or

message fatigue.

INSIGHTS ON PROCESS BASED CHANGE

• Understand people first to select the most relevant

behaviors to focus on.

• Pilot the whole process and use results to leverage

funding for larger projects.

• Build on the easy-wins and simple behavior changes over

time.

• The goal is not static, it’s to continually prosper and thrive

through the process.

• Empowerment comes through meaningful integration in

the change process.

Designing a sustainability program is necessarily a social science undertaking because

program success depends on the actions people take. Successful behavior change

programs are rooted in the particularities of a certain group of people in a certain place;

and these particularities can only be understood by talking with people through the entire program

development, implementation and assessment process. Employing a meaningful process is the

means to achieve behavior change. While transferable, templated sustainability programs may

seem appealing, they are bound to fail because they do not work through a process. Working with

a social scientist is important to ensure appropriate process and evaluation.

“The work that I do is much more a social science exercise than we sometimes allow.”

ALEX DEWS, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA

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Think in Systems

“Systems thinking is a conceptualization of the world

that emphasizes interrelationships and interdependency.”JOHN PETERSEN, OBERLIN COLLEGE

CHALLENGES OF SYSTEMS THINKING

• This is a big cultural shift, we think reductively and in

isolation.

• The built environment often disconnects us from natural

systems.

• Children are not taught to think in systems.

• It is difficult to see systemic effects of personal, individual

behaviors.

• The buildings world often devalues or overlooks occupant

experience.

INSIGHTS ON SYSTEMS THINKING

• We are each stewards of parts of systems.

• Buildings can serve as living laboratories highlighting

interconnections.

• Sustainability is the ideal problem to solve most others.

• Buildings-curriculum-community intersection results in

green schools.

• Savings are achieved when thinking through systems.

Systems thinking helps build resilience because

interconnections are highlighted before a crisis, such

as a climate related weather event, occurs. Thinking

through the system allows for understanding the potential

repercussions or benefits stemming from a design choice

or a program goal. Encouraging systems thinking allows

people to understand how human choices affect natural

resource use. It also allows for program designs to address

barriers or harness opportunities that may not be obvious

to any one group. Those responsible for building outcomes

and performance are often partitioned into distinct groups:

operations, occupants, facilities and the organization. By

thinking through the interactive effect each of these groups

has, the systems view will help create a more effective

behavior change program to meet green goals.

“We have to be able to say that this is not just about the transformation of the built environment but that it’s about human behavioral transformation.”RACHEL GUTTER, CENTER FOR GREEN SCHOOLS, US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

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Gather and Use Data Wisely

CHALLENGES OF DATA GATHERING AND USE

• Human experience is not easily quantified or measured.

• Difficult to connect individual data points to larger

community effects.

• Like other kinds of data, there are privacy issues in

gathering resource use data.

• People are overwhelmed by the amount of data

presented to them.

• Money is scarce for feedback meters or other data

collection instruments and programs.

“If you can use feedback to teach people a new behavior, then that behavior becomes normative.”DANIEL ROSENBERG, OBERLIN COLLEGE

INSIGHTS ON DATA GATHERING AND USE

• Data should be socially comparative.

• A dashboard of real-time energy use is an effective

bridging device between building occupants and

facilities staff.

• Feedback can teach new behaviors that become

normative, and then the feedback is not needed.

• Freely available sustainability data will help people

compare and choose homes, schools and even

workplaces.

• Stories are necessary compliments to numbers; ask

people for their stories.

“The whole process is about understanding people; having data to pick the best behaviors that will have the greatest impact.”

JENI CROSS, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

Data is needed for benchmarking and for understanding what kind of program is appropriate

for a specific building in a specific geographic and infrastructure setting. Gathering this

data requires systems thinking and connecting with building occupants, owners and

managers as well as working with utility companies and finding appropriate tracking technology.

Data to support behavior change will not be simply quantitative, it should include complimentary

qualitative materials such as stories from building occupants. When used wisely, resource-use

feedback that incorporates stories and other social cues can result in shifting group norms so that

sustainable behaviors become embedded in a building or community’s culture.

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Take Time to Reflect“We can change our relationship to time in the workplace by

getting away from thinking in blocks of time, finding the balance.” JULIAN GORESKI, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

CHALLENGES OF REFLECTION

• Haste and busyness, especially at work, are strong norms.

• Only looking back stifles creativity.

• Chaos and dissonance can also generate creative

thinking.

• Compassion for oneself is a difficult but necessary first

step to slowing down.

INSIGHTS ON SLOWING DOWN

• Organization or community leaders can model this

behavior to encourage and allow others to slow down.

• Learning and transformation happen after reflection.

• Take time to look forward and envision an inspirational

future.

• Reflective listening is a powerful engagement tool.

Contemplative practices may seem tangential to green building goals, but they are not.

Whether its formal meditation or simply taking some designated time to slow down and

reflect, the benefits of reflection ripple far into our lives and work. Purposively journaling,

breathing or stretching help us as individuals to be more creative and resilient in the face of life

or work stresses. Modeling this kind of behavior at work or in the buildings we live in among our

friends and families also signals to others the importance of being present with one another, which

helps foster the trust and relationships integral to resilience. Reflecting can also aid in seeing the

system repercussions of actions which in turn helps design better buildings and sustainability

programs. Most of all, when we tackle time to reflect, we can recognize the successes and the

relationships that make those successes possible.

“We have to continue to think creatively and to enjoy it, to laugh, to see the humor and the light in it.”

TIM CUMMINGS, WEST SIDE FEDERATION FOR SENIOR & SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

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THE BIG PICTURE: BUILDING RESILIENCE

Andrew Zolli, Curator, PopTech & author of

Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back

We need systems that can self-reorganize, that are better

at sensing emerging disruption. We need systems that

encourage cooperation, rather than division. We need

systems that, when a failure happens in one component of

the system, it doesn’t bring down every other component

of the system. Yes, we need to reimagine the built

environment but we need to do it in a way that recognizes

it as part of a greater system that includes human

relationships. Let’s let buildings help build relationships

that allow us to thrive in the face of climate, or other,

disruptions.

OCCUPANT ENGAGEMENT: THE PROCESS IS THE

SOLUTION Jeni Cross, Sociologist, Director of Research,

Institute for the Built Environment, Colorado State

University

How do we create operational savings and improve

efficiency in existing buildings? There are science-based

processes to engage diverse stakeholders and building

occupants from many building types. Using a model called

Integrated Sustainability Management, the opportunities

and barriers present in particular buildings become

apparent. Strategies for building social relationships and

fostering information sharing are the solution to identifying

opportunities and overcoming barriers to conservation.

WHY SUSTAINABILITY NATIVES WILL RUN THE WORLD

Rachel Gutter, Director, Center for Green Schools

Sustainability natives intuitively make decisions to use

what they need as opposed to what they can. You may call

theirs an attitude of scarcity, but they call it an attitude of

abundance. Say hello to a generation of thinkers, leaders

and doers whose true north is the triple bottom line and

the notion that great things happen when you aim for the

intersection of people, planet and prosperity.

THE POWER OF CONVERSATION:

A HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH TO ENGAGEMENT

Sarah Gibson, Director of Client Services, Brand Cool

Renee Lertzman, Director of Insight, Brand Cool

Understanding what energy efficiency means to people—

the good and the bad—is the underpinning of effective

engagement tools. Techniques such as conversation-

platforms, humor, creativity, and participatory practices

can help create cultures in buildings that allow people to

laugh, learn and get real about the changes we need to

make. Drawing on emerging conversation-based tools,

including Brand Cool’s work with NYSERDA’s Multifamily

Performance Program, we have found that a human-

centered approach helps design and implement better

engagement strategies.

TRACKING AND REWARDING ‘POSITIVE IMPACT’

BEHAVIORS

Wendy Gordon, Co-Founder and CEO, 3P Partners

PIPs are a new social impact currency. The web app,

pipsrewards.com, leverages the power of points, smart

tools and games to reward daily life choices that benefit

planetary, community and personal health. PIPs can be

used to incentivize behaviors you are looking to encourage

in your buildings, from saving energy and water, to

carpooling, recycling or responsible purchasing.

OCCUPANT ENGAGEMENT: GETTING THERE

Barbara Ciesla, Senior Vice President, Occupier Strategies

& Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Real Estate

Occupants remain the missing link in building performance

primarily because of the complexity in addressing human

behavior. But how do we achieve true engagement that

results in purposeful action? Exploring lessons-learned

through occupant engagement case studies helps develop

engagement programs for the buildings you live or work in.

Presentation Abstracts The following presentations from the 2014 Climate, Buildings and Behavior Symposium are available to watch online at:

www.garrisoninstitute.org/cbbvideos2014

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COMMUNITY VOICES AND BUILDING DATA:

MOTIVATING CONSERVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL DASHBOARD

John Petersen, Director, Environmental Studies Program,

Oberlin College

Daniel Rosenberg Daneri, Project Manager, Environmental

Dashboard Project, Oberlin College

The Environmental Dashboard is an emerging

communication technology that combines real-time display

of water and electricity use in buildings, organizations

and through whole communities with photographs and

ideas contributed by community members. The approach

focuses on multiple audiences with sophisticated analytical

tools that identify conservation opportunities in buildings.

Using digital signage and compelling websites to make

flows of resources visible while building social networks

promotes pro-environmental action.

CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF WELLNESS:

FINDING MEANING IN OUR WORK

Sharon Salzberg, Insight Meditation Teacher & author of

Real Happiness at Work

Work can be challenging—conflicting personalities,

overwhelming busy-ness and cutthroat competition create

a stressful environment that seeps into home life and can

confuse our core sense of self. But it is possible to shift

the work environment by shifting our awareness and

consciously bringing clarity of purpose and compassion

into the office space. We can be committed without being

consumed by learning simple mindfulness tools that are

proven to work. Together, we can cultivate a culture of

wellness in the buildings we live and work in.

EAT THE WALLS! GREEN BUILDINGS INSIDE AND OUT

Stephen Ritz, Founder, Bronx Green Machine & Executive

Director of the Health, Wellness and Biodiversity Center at

PS 55, NYC

Stephen Ritz and his Green Bronx Machine students are

planting seeds of academic success and a whole new

economy while changing mindsets and landscapes across

the Bronx and the nation. 30,000 pounds of student grown

vegetables later, his favorite crop is organically grown

citizens, members of the middle class and students who

are growing and eating their way to good health and living

wage opportunities!.

FROM TRANSACTION TO TRANSFORMATION

Alexie Torres-Fleming, Executive Director, Access

Strategies Fund & Founder, Youth Ministries for

Peace and Justice

Every person is an expert in their own lives. Working with

people from diverse backgrounds in the buildings they live

and work in means that you have an opportunity to harness

their expertise to find appropriate ways to make buildings

greener while fostering relationships that allow us all to

thrive.

TAKING BEST PRACTICES TO THE NEXT LEVEL:

LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE

Gina Ciganik, Vice President of Housing Development,

Aeon

Best practices in any industry eventually need to evolve.

At Aeon, we realized the affordable housing industry was

reaching the end of efficiency in the current generation

of “green” multi-family housing—we needed to create the

first in the next generation of high-performance, healthy

buildings to get the outcomes we desired. Aeon is blazing

a new trail using the Living Building Challenge to create

buildings that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently

as nature’s own architecture.

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The 2014 Climate, Buildings and Behavior Symposium was

made possible in part by the following generous sponsors:

LOSTAND FOUNDATIONBANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH

Sponsors