Greenbuild 2024 Highlights

In Conversation at Greenbuild 2024.

Greenbuild is the largest annual event for green building professionals worldwide. A hub where leaders developing the next generation of sustainable standards gather to create a better future for everyone on the planet. Ranae Anderson, Universal Fibers Global Sustainability Leader is part of this cutting-edge professional community, dedicated to improving sustainability, resilience, equity, health and wellness in the spaces we live, work, play and learn.

This year’s Greenbuild conference theme was 'Built to Scale,' which spotlights the green building community’s commitment to wholesale market transformation, bringing proven solutions and strategies to global communities. Decarbonization was also a primary focus of Greenbuild 2024, highlighting efforts to reduce carbon emissions throughout a building’s lifecycle—from construction to maintenance. Key strategies include energy efficiency, renewable energy, low-carbon materials, electrification, and carbon capture.

It was no surprise that this year’s hot topic was LEED V5 – set to launch in early 2025, it’s the first major update to LEED accreditation in a decade. With a focus on decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological restoration, half of LEED credits are gained from addressing emissions from operations, embodied carbon, refrigerants, and transportation.

(Above Pictured Left to right: Don Cheadle, Keynote speaker,  Ranae Anderson and Kirsten Ritchie, Gensler,  Nick Galardi, One Click LCA, and Ranae Anderson)

Hot topics and takeaways

Actor, Director, and Activist Don Cheadle gave a compelling keynote speech about the importance of environmental justice and the need to strengthen resilience, protect human and ecosystem health, and advance equity. Hoping to use his celebrity to motivate people and contribute to moving society back from the brink, he emphasized that nothing is done by yourself, it's always about teams. 

As meeting LEED V5 and reducing embodied carbon in our building and will require a team effort, Ranae Anderson took the opportunity to interview key stakeholders in our industry.

Kirsten Ritchie Global Director of Climate Action and Sustainability at Gensler said, “We were on a fabulous panel to discuss the role of contractors, designers, and owners on the decarbonization of the built environment. Specifically, we really focused on the embodied carbon - this is the carbon that comes with all the materials we use. There are a number of messages, but the number one thing is that it's time we all take action as we can all make a difference. You start by saying we want to measure and understand what the carbon footprint is of our projects- so that includes things like the fiber in carpet and understanding it.”

Innovators in fiber development, Universal Fibers is the first company to create a carbon negative fiber. Today, Thrive® matter stands alone as the most environmentally conscious solution-dyed, high-performance nylon fiber in the World. Committed to creating a better future, its vital that Universal Fibers are able to share data behind their innovations.

Ranae Anderson spoke with Nick Galardi at One Click LCA who acknowledged the importance of having an EPD can make a difference.  He explained, “EPD’s are great, (they) provides a lot of data on how we can improve our projects to be able to cut costs, waste, and energy - inherently that is sustainability.” Universal Fibers is proud to have invested in measuring with LCA’s and third-party verified EPD’s since 2016. 

Access to reliable data that is measured over time is a huge step forward. The new LEED V5 looks at materials connections, which is ideal for Universal Fibers’ Thrive® matter yarns. 

As a global sustainability person, Ranae Anderson focusses on those initiatives and global directives that will help Universal Fibers produce products that allow customers to move their environmental footprint in the direction that they want to go. Universal Fibers will keep pushing the needle, as Ranae asks what she should be looking out for, and what should Universal Fibers be thinking about going into 2025 and beyond, Gail Hampsmire, with Green Business Certification Inc., a LEED green associate at Greenbuild 2024, said “We are very excited about increased focus, on sustainability and excited about increased focus on design scale and sustainability. A lot of changes are coming in with LEED V5, and it’s been building for quite some time. Focus on materials for projects, continued focus on trying to address markets in a way that will allow documentation to be submitted that does not put undue burden on projects but still focuses on addressing the requirements on decarbonization. There is clearly on focus on energy. We are looking for market transformation to take place. It can't happen with just one side pushing it forward. Needs to be designers and specifiers - it takes a team.”
As part of the supply chain, Universal Fibers understand the importance of partnering with our customers.

Matt Van Duinen, Sustainability Director at WAP (pictured below alongside Ranae) said, “People are talking a lot about embodied carbon, making sure that we all are moving in the same direction and reporting impacts. Additionally, we are making sure material health doesn't fall by the wayside and material health impacts are still being considered. In particular, we’ve been hearing a lot about the Cradle to Cradle Product Certification Standard and everything related to that system. We’re seeing a lot of new businesses wanting to learn more and be more involved, but also businesses that have been here forever researching how we can all be better – with both new and existing products. There have been so many cool stories and so many things people are asking about at our booth.”

He adds, “It's an awesome thing to see the leadership from Universal Fibers having that foresight of to get ahead of it, to talk to the customers and provide those models going all the way back with some customers pre 2011-2012. The industry needs to hear more of these types of success stories because that will change the market. Universal Fibers should stay ahead of game, continue to do what you’re doing. Share information about all of the products that are ready to go. There are other industries much further behind that Universal Fibers could influence with really powerful examples. You can lead the way.”

We asked Ranae what her key take ours were, and why attending the annual Greenbuild Conference is so important. She summarized them here:

• Learning about the future of sustainable development: Greenbuild covers a wide range of topics, including transportation, health, and community programming. 
• Seeing new products and services: The Greenbuild Expo Floor features sustainable building products and companies that can help with LEED projects and certifications. 
• Networking with decision-makers: Connecting with thousands of peers, mentors, and decision-makers. 
• Learning from thought-leaders: Hearing from hundreds of thought-leaders who educate and inspire
• Opportunities for self-development and upskilling, plus CEU credits
• and Engaging with customers and their customers to facilitate a more collaborative discussion

We can’t capture all of the interviews Ranae Anderson did over her three days at Greenbuild, but it’s clear that LEED V5 proves a renewed focus and real commitment to creating a more sustainable built environment. 

Stay tuned and follow us on Instagram for an upcoming audio interview with Holley Henderson, LEED Fellow, Fitwel Ambassador, WELL AP on her takeaways from this years Greenbuild conference.

Ranae Anderson, Universal Fibers Global Sustainability Leader, will be at the next Greenbuild conference taking place in Los Angeles from November 4–7, 2025 – be sure to catch up with her.

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