Zigzag Careers and Green Buildings: Inside Sustainability with USGBC

In this episode of SolPods Studio, host Harrison Cymbler sits down with Stephanie (Steph) Hallinan from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to explore sustainability in the built environment and the many paths into the field. Steph shares her “zigzag” career journey from architecture to supply chain to sustainability, and how unexpected experiences can shape impactful careers.

The conversation covers how efficiency drives sustainability, the role of policy and local action, and how organizations like USGBC support professionals through education, credentials, and community. From green buildings to global supply chains, Steph offers a practical perspective on how students can find their place in sustainability regardless of their background.

Visit USGBC’s website or explore their LEED Green Associate resources to learn more.

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Transcript

Steph: 00:00

Efficiency is sustainability. Sustainability is healthy, equitable living for everyone. USGBC again is a great network of volunteers, in-person events, online events, online courses. What does sustainability mean in the built environment?

Harrison:  00:20

Hello and welcome back to another episode of SolPods Studio. I'm Harrison Cymbler joining you from Blacksburg, Virginia, where I am a student at Virginia Tech, studying Smart and Sustainable Cities and Political Science. Today I'm joined by Steph Hallinan, Associate Director US Market Transformation and Development at the US Green Building Council or USGBC. Steph is based in Santa Cruz, California, thanks for being here.

Steph:  00:44

Yay. Thank you for having me.

Harrison:  00:47

Thank you for joining us. So Steph, your background spans architecture and supply chain management. How did these different experiences shape your approach to working in sustainability and real estate and help shape the environment?

Steph:  01:00

Totally. So, it starts when I first started with my role with USBC, a stakeholder said to me, "You have the most zigzag career I've ever heard of."  And I think it's important to kind of take a step back and appreciate the zigzag because while I've ended up here,  I'm so grateful for, kind of, steering off course a little bit from where I thought I would be in college. So my degree is in architecture. I graduated from Bowling Green State University, and while I was studying my undergraduate I'd learned about the US Green Building Council. I learned about LEED. I learned about the founder, David Gottfried, and I kind of said, "Oh, that's cool. That's good to see someone's taking care of this. That's nice. Like, good to see someone's doing this.” So, during my studies, we really siloed in on sustainability and what that means in architecture, and that's when it clicked for me, of this is where I want to be, this is what I want to be doing. So, while I was studying, we took the LEED exam. We learned what the LEED rating system was, and we'll get into that a little bit later as well, and basically what does sustainability mean in the built environment and it was still kind of new in that concept back then. So after I graduated, I was living– so Bowling Green State University in Ohio and I was really eager to work at Owens Corning. So Owens Corning is the pink installation that you see at Lowe's and Home Depot, but they have this incredible branch that works in nonprofit with Habitat for Humanity, and I thought this is a really cool branch from what I did— It's a global company. I kept applying for any job until they just had to give me a job. And I finally got my foot in the door job, which was in supply chain customer service. When I started, I was really, really zoned in on “I want to work for this nonprofit branch for the Habitat for Humanity”. And I was like, okay, this job I'll do well at this job and try and get in. What I found was doing supply chain was really interesting. It was a complete deviation from architecture, and someone came up to me and they said, "You're pretty good at supply chain." I said, "No, no, no. I'm a designer. I'm an architect. I'm a designer. I don't know anything about supply chain. I didn't study it." But what I found was a lot of the creativity I'd learned in school, I was able to apply to the supply chain. The difference is– there's kind of two parts– with architecture, and a lot of architecture students will know this, you can't really be done with the project. You're never done with the project until you finally put the pen down, until you put the laptop down. You can keep continuously working on a project, and it's really up to you to decide when you finish. Whereas that end goal is the creativity, whereas the opposite with supply chain is that goal is given to you from the beginning. So, it's kind of the opposite. Here's the goal. Now, you have to creatively figure out how to get to that end result. And what I really liked was that I could see the result and it was just a matter of figuring out how to get there. And through the studies of architecture, I found I really thrived with creative problem solving because I didn't have that background. I was able to apply different solutions and I ended up running the Lowe's supply chain account at Owens Corning and that resulted in me then actually working at Lowe's and becoming an in-house supply chain consultant. So that's basically telling the supply chain how to supply chain and where a lot of people learned about supply chain during COVID. Where is my product? How did it get here? And what the role is, is getting products from A to C. How do you get A, B, C? How do you make those dots connect? How do you do it in the most efficient way? And what was amazing was during that career component that I have was, the most efficient solutions happen to be sustainability. It happens to be something resulting in a sustainable solution. Whether at the warehouse and distribution centers, it's battery operated forklifts, it's installing solar systems to reduce energy, which allows for more cost savings, which allows them to put more capital into other projects. So, what I found was that through that whole supply chain career, I was still in the door for sustainability. I still had this passion and then this job with USGBC opened up and I thought, this is that company that I'd been chasing. This is that company that I learned about. I have to try. And what's amazing is that, again that zigzag of you don't really think about sustainability with supply chain, but by taking these deviations and zigzags, it allows me to apply all of that in a creative way to the job that I have now. So, it really deviated, and what all that to say is sometimes the opportunity presents itself in a different way than what you would expect while you're in school. And sometimes you need to just let it happen because it's going to bring you back eventually to where you're meant to be and what you're meant to be doing. I am so grateful for the zigzag because with sustainability and architecture with US Green Building Council, I don't know that I would have had the same business acumen, the same efficiency mindset, the same data metrics and analysis that supply chain gave me that I've been able to apply in this job.

Harrison:  06:25

Awesome. Yeah. No, that's amazing. It's great to see how you started off in Ohio and went to Habitat for Humanity, ended up at Lowe's during COVID and then and now you're at a great job. It's really powerful to see how your background in something very practical can be so transformative leading to a completely different area. So turning now to USGBC, how would you describe its core mission and how has it evolved in recent years? 

Steph:  06:52

At USGBC, the mission is really simple. Building a better future in the built environment that supports a healthy sustainable world for all. That's really all inclusive of the built environment, equity, the surrounding cities of communities, and what I want people to leave with is that if you have any interest in sustainability, you have a seat at the table. We want to hear what you have to say. You have something to contribute to sustainability in the larger scope.

Harrison: 07:23

Great. That was a great answer. That's definitely a very encouraging way to talk about USGBC and their huge impact they have across various sectors. So how does the mission impact your role? Can you give a specific example of how it's played an impact into your position?

Steph: 07:41

Yeah, absolutely. So, we've talked about my favorite day that I've had at US Green Building Council, and my favorite day was: I started the morning talking with a massive aerospace company on their sustainability goals globally, and as that pertains to outer space. So, everywhere from outer space to global for this aerospace company. That was my morning call. And then my lunchtime call was with a major Hollywood studio. So how are they scaling sustainability across the country at all of the studios, the parks, the resorts, the offices. Then the afternoon call was with Second Harvest Food Bank. So community oriented is still very much rooted in sustainability and again we go back to efficiency is sustainability. Sustainability is healthy equitable living for everyone. So everywhere from outer space sustainable initiatives to food banks all across the country. That was my favorite day because it was really this all-encompassing moment of capturing everything you could possibly think of. And again, if your company or you as an individual have an interest in sustainability, you have something to contribute to this.

Harrison:  08:56

Yeah. No, that sounds like a great day. Go starting off in space work and then ending up at food pantry. That's an amazing day and I love to hear how that is your favorite day. I mean I could see why. But zooming out a bit from the project level to the bigger picture. You mentioned earlier about how USGBC encourages advocacy and policy to advance in green buildings. What are the most pressing policy areas USGBC is focused on currently and why?

Steph:  09:26

Yeah. So we talk about when you look at different administrations and governing bodies throughout the country. We are either in the position of protecting legislation or enabling legislation. So depending on which administration is in office at that time you can probably guess whether we're in protection mode or enable and proactive mode for advocacy. This is kind of a game I like to play with everyone and you as listeners can play this game too. If you had to guess which state in the country had the most sustainable legislation for our cities, our city certificate known as LEED for Cities. So this is where the cities have all-encompassing sustainable initiatives throughout the jurisdiction and it's this collective measurement. Which state do you think has the most certifications of LEED for Cities?

Harrison:  10:24

See, at first I want to go with a bigger city or a state that has bigger cities like in New York or California. But then I think out a little bit and I start thinking about, okay, which cities seem to be the most step forward. So I'm thinking Seattle and Washington for example or maybe Denver and Colorado.

Steph: 10:44

Yeah, it's a good guess. It's a great guess. It's actually Florida. So Florida by a landslide has an enormous amount more LEED for Cities certifications than the rest of the country. And what that means is we've seen the news where in some parts of the country, certain things that lean towards sustainability, mention sustainability, have any kind of anchor or route to sustainability, are trying to be eliminated. And what's beautiful to see is that the cities, the communities, and those local governing bodies have said “We are still pushing forward with sustainability. We are still pursuing that”. So to see Florida thriving at a local level, that's where we see success. And I want to take a step back. So USGBC really lives in three branches: advocacy, education, and products. And what mostly funds us is the products that we sell. So people know us for LEED certifications, TRUE, LEED for Cities. We have a whole plethora of credentialing. You can get a LEED Green Associate, LEED Accredited Professional. There's so many products and the products that we sell allow us to have that advocacy team and that policy and we're also really backed by volunteers. So the products that we sell allow us to have the education across the country and allow us to be advocates at the federal level, the state level, the local level. So that's what really allows us to thrive in those three branches. We go back to again that LEED for Cities component in Florida that this is where we thrive. We want ideally that every city across the country is instituting some sort of sustainable infrastructure to help that city grow and that community grow.

Harrison: 12:33

Awesome. Well, building from that, could you point out to a specific project or initiative going on right now either in California where you're based or in Florida where there's all these different LEED initiatives where you feel like exemplifies the future of sustainable building?

Steph:  12:48

Yeah, totally. So a project that I want to highlight is a Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. So it is a 61 story multi-use skyscraper and it is the first commercial skyscraper in the United States to institute a whole blackwater recycled system. And what I love about this is there's so many different components that make this building excellent. It's LEED Core and Shell certified which means that the main systems and the envelope of the building have that LEED certification. So the building itself has LEED, it has this innovative water system and, you know, depending on scarcity and, as we face the climate crisis, everything about what we do comes with efficiency. So to see this building have this really innovative technology is one thing, and then the second part of that is the company Epic Cleantec that have put that system in. They themselves have this incredible marketing campaign where they've made this blackwater and greywater into beer that you can buy at the store. So taking sustainable innovation from the built environment into the hands of any person that can see this, they have this passive attachment to sustainability. Someone just looks at this and says, "Oh, this came from a building of sustainability. What can I do tomorrow that's one more thing sustainable than what I did yesterday?". So, taking a simple idea of a very good solution and innovation for water infrastructure in a building and turning that into commercial hands-on materialistic things like a beer that we can consume. One, it's fun. It's fun. It's delicious. It's an incredible beer. And two, that's where we see innovation. So, thinking creatively of, it's not just about the buildings, it's about the communities around us. How can you engage with anything? Again, any interest that you have in sustainability has a role to play and you can engage in any kind of way.

Harrison: 14:53

Awesome. I mean, that's a super cool initiative. I think that would do pretty well in a college town like Blacksburg, Virginia in the middle of nowhere and it would also have good upside for the environment with sustainability. So, I know we touched upon this a little bit in one of the previous questions where we talked about if anyone is interested in sustainability and wants a seat at the table, the USGBC is your place. But for someone who's listening who wants to be involved and help make a difference by working in sustainability or real estate, but may not think they're a good fit for a job after college based on their major or prior internship or work experiences. In your view, what's a good way where a student could get involved?

Steph:  15:34

Yeah, good question. And I want to go back to my background, too. I felt hesitant to even apply for this job. I had been out of the architecture and sustainability world for eight years when this job was posted for me and I was like, if I don't apply, I'm definitely not going to get it. So, I have to at least try. So, firstly, let some courses take you in a different direction than they thought they would. That's the first thing. The second thing is what you'll find is that sustainability is everywhere. Even the local coffee shop, they will source the grounds. They'll do very careful sourcing of the coffee beans that they get and have it be sustainably sourced. An office building, anything that you can think about for the future of what you want to do has some sort of tie to sustainability. So I firstly encourage people to think creatively. Sometimes operational efficiency, as I said the supply chain, had a huge step into sustainability. So that's the first thing, is to think creatively. It doesn't have to have sustainability in the role; you can have a lot of that expertise that you gained from school be applied to that job. Secondly, USGBC again is a great network of volunteers, in person events, online events, online courses, any interest that you have you can find resources with our website, with our courses, with our network of people. We're always looking for volunteers, but a lot of the time there's events all over the country. Go to the event and just meet the people in that room. See what they have to say and again, let that course steer you potentially in a different direction. If you have a degree in engineering, there might be a role at a coffee chain of operational efficiency and your engineering degree could actually really be applied in a great way for excellence in that sustainable outcome for a company. So I think the larger answer is just be open to opportunities, keep your eyes peeled. Something that I encourage people to do is try not to overfilter in searches when you look for jobs. Keep the filters open, because sometimes those key words aren't always in the job description or stuff like that. So, that gets a little bit more specific. I used to hate it when my parents said this to me, but keep your options open because it'll steer you in a direction that may take you a little bit off course, but in the best way.

Harrison: 17:59

Yeah. No, I definitely agree. As someone studying sustainability right now and urban planning and political science also, that creativity and just having all the different avenues open is what they kind of preach to us here, now that we've seen or you're looking into the job market. So wrapping up, we like to wrap up every episode here with a little bit of fun. If you could have one sustainability superpower, what would it be and why? 

Steph: 18:27

Yes. Okay. Magic numbers output. That's my superpower that I would like to have. So, I come from the data analysis world. I come from the numbers digging world and figuring out the numbers, figuring out the ROI. What you hear a lot in sustainability is, and we talked about, you know, different types of administrations that encourage sustainability and don't. Everybody understands the cost and everybody understands cost savings. How much did this cost me? How much did this save me? Everybody understands that language. If I could just on the spot have those numbers ready for every existing project and hypothetical project to say you will save this, this will cost you this but you will save this for every project. That would be magical. So numbers-magic on the spot.

Harrison: 19:18

That's definitely a new one. I haven't heard of that one before but I'm not great with numbers. So just having them on demand like that I think would be pretty good honestly. 

Steph: 19:25

That would be great. Yeah. 

Harrison: 19:27

All right. Well, Steph, thank you for joining me today. To learn more about the US Green Building Council, visit www.usgbc.org or follow them on social media. If you're interested in taking the LEED Green Associate exam, you can get study resources on the USGBC website. Thanks again, Steph.

Steph: 19:47

Thank you, and good luck to everyone. What you're doing is incredible work, and I can't wait to see you all out in the field. 

Harrison: 19:54

Thank you.