Gregory Kats

Last updated
Gregory Kats
Greg kats.jpg
Gregory Kats
Born (1959-07-14) July 14, 1959 (age 64)
Paris, France
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s) Venture Capital,
Clean Technology
Known for Green Building, [1]
Energy Efficiency,
Low Carbon Economy,
Green Design Standards

Gregory H. Kats (born July 14, 1959) is an American businessman, environmentalist, and thought leader in the green economy sector. He is founder and CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition, a non-profit organization consisting of 40+ national and international partner groups [2] working to ensure the rapid, cost-effective adoption of reflective, porous, and green urban surface infrastructure, or "smart surfaces", in cities. [3] Previously, Kats served as a Managing Director at Good Energies,[2] a multi-billion dollar global clean energy investor, and Director of Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).[3]

Contents

Work

Kats has played lead roles in developing the energy efficiency and green building industries, and is a long-time thought leader, innovator, and investor in the transition to a low-carbon economy. A pioneer in the space, Kats led the creation of the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP); [4] served as a key driver in the creation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and subsequent updates; and co-founded the country's first green bank.

In 2019, Kats founded and currently serves as CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition (SSC), [5] a 501c(3) organization with over 40 national and international partners including the American Public Health Association, National League of Cities, American Institute of Architects, and the U.S. Green Building Council, among others. [2] The mission of the Smart Surfaces Coalition is as follows: "The Smart Surfaces Coalition is committed to the rapid, cost-effective global adoption of Smart Surfaces to enable cities to thrive despite climate threats, save cities billions of dollars, create jobs, decrease heat, reduce flood risk, slow global warming, and improve city livability, health, and equity." [3] Through the Cities for Smart Surfaces initiative, SSC is partnering with 10 major cities across the U.S. including Boston, Dallas, and Phoenix to facilitate the adoption of Smart Surfaces at the metropolitan level and working with communities in those regions to support community-led, local Smart Surface implementation projects. SSC is also working in Bhopal and Indore, India with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, which they received in 2021. [6]

Kats is also President of Capital E, which works with cities, corporations, and financial institutions to design, scale, and implement clean energy and low carbon strategies. [7] Capital E invests in early-stage clean tech and green firms. [8] Kats is presently a driver in the campaign to revise LEED standards to require meaningful minimum carbon reductions for each level of LEED certification – both for new LEED buildings and for LEED rating renewals. [9] In 2018, he served as the lead author of a major report on the opportunity that cities have to invest in "smart surface technologies" as a means of both improving public health and delivering financial benefits. [10]

Kats chairs the Congressionally established committee guiding the greening of 430,000 federal buildings, [11] serves on the Mayor's Green Ribbon Committee guiding the greening of the District of Columbia, [12] and served on the CO2toEE project steering committee. He is the author of Greening Our Built World, which was translated into Portuguese, [13] and has published several dozen reports and articles in global journals and outlets (see Publications below).

Kats has served on the boards of a dozen clean energy companies including Blue Planet, which produces the first man-made carbon sequestering commercial product which was deployed in the build-out of San Francisco International Airport. [14] Greg also Chaired the development of CarbonStar, a government-backed technical standard for quantifying the carbon intensity of concrete. He regularly testifies on clean energy green building and financial issues.

From 2005 to 2010, Kats was Managing Director of Good Energies, [15] a multibillion-dollar global clean energy PE/VC fund, where he led investments in smart grid, energy efficiency, green materials, and green building. He then served as a partner in Clean Feet, [16] which funds innovative green energy and agricultural projects. Kats also served on a National Academy of Sciences board on strengthening U.S. global competitiveness. [17] He was the Director of Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy [15] for five years under President Bill Clinton.

Kats also serves on the advisory board of The CLEEN Project, which compiles and synthesizes clean economy job creation ideas for government leaders, sourced from top executives and policy experts.

In 2022 Greg was recognized as an American Institute of Architects Honorary Member for his contributions to the field. AIA notes that “through his steadfast commitment to green design, Kats has supplied countless architects with the economic evidence to convince clients to embrace sustainability. Without his work, there’s no doubt that architects would face fewer opportunities than they do today.”

Federal Clean Energy Financing

In response to Congressional investigations in 2011 and 2012, Kats testified three times to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on issues directly related to controversial political issues, including green jobs, including the Obama Administration's federal clean energy strategy, and the DOE loan guarantee controversies, which became issues for candidates in the 2012 United States Presidential Election. [18] [19] His congressional testimony highlighted the cost-effectiveness of clean energy stimulus funding and noted that the final loan default rate of the U.S. clean energy loan program would be less than half what the Office of Management and Budget had projected and budgeted for. [20]

Kats' analysis indicated that the default rate on the $16.1 billion Energy Department loan portfolio is less than 3.6 percent, well below the Office of Management and Budget forecast of 12.85 percent, and he determined that the actual default rate will not get out of single digits. [21] Citing the financial objectives and successes of the program to date, as well as the related employment and national security benefits, Kats concluded that the largest risk is that the DOE slows its loan guarantee program. [22] [23]

Energy and Green Design Standards

While at the U.S. Department of Energy, Kats recognized the challenge associated with enabling energy efficiency to become a more substantial industry. He played a lead role in developing and served as the Founding Chair of IPMVP. During his tenure, he built it into the international energy and water efficiency design and verification standard for more than $50 billion in building efficiency upgrades to date. It's the design measurement verification basis for the modern energy efficiency industry and is required for all federal building efficiency upgrades.

Kats was a founder of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE). He was the Principal Advisor in designing and establishing Enterprise Green Communities, the national low-income green design standard that has served as the design basis for over 50,000 housing units to date. [24] He recently helped design the World Bank's large new green building financing program. [24]

Kats served as a leader in the creation of LEED and served on its steering committee for the first six years. During his tenure on the steering committee, he led the effort to establish minimum energy performance and subsequently led the push to reweight LEED around climate change. He has chaired the USGBC's Energy and Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group on LEED, and served on its LEED Steering Committee. [25] Kats also served as lead advisor in guiding the development of Enterprise Green Comminutes the leading green low income healthy design and certification standard that serves as the design basis for 130,000 units of green healthy affordable housing.

Resilient Cities

For almost a decade, Kats has been driving the conversation about making the built environment – particularly in cities – resilient. In 2018, he co-authored the report, “Delivering Urban Resilience,” [26] which concluded that an investment in “smart surface technologies” would result in an estimated half a trillion dollars in net financial benefits nationally. [27] The report was launched in partnership with the USGBC, National League of Cities, and American Institute of Architects, among others, and has received national attention.

The findings from "Delivering Urban Resilience" highlighted the importance, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility of broad Smart Surface adoption in cities, and in 2019 Kats founded the Smart Surfaces Coalition to further study the impacts of Smart Surface adoption in cities and to provide the tools, training, resources, and other assistance needed for cities to adopt smart surface, resilient infrastructure to better manage the sun and rain which falls on cities. [3] These surfaces include cool/reflective surfaces (roofs, roads, and parking lots), urban trees, green roofs, permeable pavement, and solar PV. As of 2023 the Coalition has over 40 partner organizations with expertise across a range of fields including public health, environmental justice, climate, urban infrastructure, cities, architecture, energy, economics, and finance—among others. [2]

He recently co-authored the report, "Cooling Cities, Slowing Climate Change and Enhancing Equity: Costs and Benefits of Smart Surfaces Adoption for Baltimore," which analyzed the potential of Smart Surfaces to cost-effectively cool the city, cut flooding, mitigate climate change, improve public health, and advance equity. The report found that implementing Smart Surfaces in Baltimore would cut peak summer temperatures by five degrees Fahrenheit or more with a benefit-cost ratio of over 10:1. [28]

In 2014, Kats testified before the Israeli Cabinet about the opportunity for Israel to make large financial savings with health, security and strategic benefits by greening their buildings and infrastructure.[14]

Awards

Kats has been widely recognized for his contributions to the green economy. In 2011, he was the recipient of the first U.S. Green Building Council President's Award, a lifetime achievement honor. [29] Kats also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alliance to Save Energy in 2018 and was recognized as an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects in 2022. [30]

Education

Kats earned an MBA from Stanford University and, concurrently, an MPA from Princeton University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. [31] He received his BA from the University of North Carolina with highest honors as a Morehead Scholar. [32]

Personal

Kats lives with his wife and two of his three children in Washington, DC. A solar PV system powers his home and an electric car.

Publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green building</span> Structures and processes of building structures that are more environmentally responsible

Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building also refers to saving resources to the maximum extent, including energy saving, land saving, water saving, material saving, etc., during the whole life cycle of the building, protecting the environment and reducing pollution, providing people with healthy, comfortable and efficient use of space, and being in harmony with nature Buildings that live in harmony. Green building technology focuses on low consumption, high efficiency, economy, environmental protection, integration and optimization.’

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LEED</span> Standard for green building design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods, which aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero-energy building</span> Energy efficiency standard for buildings

A Zero-Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero-Energy (NZE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Green Building Council</span> Non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems and its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. USGBC was one of eight national councils that helped found the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clean technology</span> Any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts

Clean technology, in short cleantech or climatetech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Clean technology includes a broad range of technology related to recycling, renewable energy, information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, grey water, and more. Environmental finance is a method by which new clean technology projects can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits. A project that is developed with concern for climate change mitigation is also known as a carbon project.

Established in 2003, the Energy and Environmental Security Initiative (EESI) is an interdisciplinary Research & Policy Institute located at the University of Colorado Law School. The fundamental mission of EESI is to serve as an interdisciplinary research and policy center concerning the development and crafting of State policies, U.S. energy policies, and global responses to the world's energy crisis; and to facilitate the attainment of a global sustainable energy future through the innovative use of laws, policies and technology solutions. In pursuit of this mission, EESI's primary operational function is that of an enabling environment for teaching, research and policy analysis vis-à-vis the impact of laws and policies on the scientific, technological, sociopolitical, commercial, and environmental dimensions of sustainable energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable city</span> City designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact

A sustainable city, eco-city, or green city is a city designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact, and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromising the ability of future generations to experience the same. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 defines sustainable cities as those that are dedicated to achieving green sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability. They are committed to doing so by enabling opportunities for all through a design focused on inclusivity as well as maintaining a sustainable economic growth. The focus will also includes minimizing required inputs of energy, water, and food, and drastically reducing waste, output of heat, air pollution – CO2, methane, and water pollution. Richard Register, a visual artist, first coined the term ecocity in his 1987 book Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future, where he offers innovative city planning solutions that would work anywhere. Other leading figures who envisioned sustainable cities are architect Paul F Downton, who later founded the company Ecopolis Pty Ltd, as well as authors Timothy Beatley and Steffen Lehmann, who have written extensively on the subject. The field of industrial ecology is sometimes used in planning these cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance to Save Energy</span> A How to Save Energy

The Alliance to Save Energy is a bipartisan, nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer groups based in Washington, D.C. The Alliance states that it advocates for "energy-efficiency policies that minimize costs to society and individual consumers, and that lessen greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate." The Alliance's chief activities include public relations, research, and lobbying to change U.S. energy policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy engineering</span> Broad field of engineering dealing with energy

Energy engineering is a broad field of engineering dealing with areas such as energy harvesting and storage, energy conversion, energy materials, energy systems, energy efficiency, energy services, facility management, plant engineering, energy modelling, environmental compliance, sustainable energy and renewable energy technologies. Energy engineering is one of the most recent engineering disciplines to emerge. Energy engineering combines knowledge from the fields of physics, math, and chemistry with economic and environmental engineering practices. Energy engineers apply their skills to increase efficiency and further develop renewable sources of energy. The main job of energy engineers is to find the most efficient and sustainable ways to operate buildings and manufacturing processes. Energy engineers audit the use of energy in those processes and suggest ways to improve the systems. This means suggesting advanced lighting, better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling properties of buildings. Although an energy engineer is concerned about obtaining and using energy in the most environmentally friendly ways, their field is not limited to strictly renewable energy like hydro, solar, biomass, or geothermal. Energy engineers are also employed by the fields of oil and natural gas extraction.

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a thermal comfort. Installing light-emitting diode bulbs, fluorescent lighting, or natural skylight windows reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-collar worker</span> Environmental-sector worker

A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in an environmental sector of the economy. Environmental green-collar workers satisfy the demand for green development. Generally, they implement environmentally conscious design, policy, and technology to improve conservation and sustainability. Formal environmental regulations as well as informal social expectations are pushing many firms to seek professionals with expertise with environmental, energy efficiency, and clean renewable energy issues. They often seek to make their output more sustainable, and thus more favorable to public opinion, governmental regulation, and the Earth's ecology.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute(EESI) is an independent, bi-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to promote environmentally sustainable societies. Based out of Washington, DC, EESI seeks to be a catalyst moving society away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future. The organization was established in 1984 by a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of the United States Congress who were concerned with global environmental and energy problems.

This article provides examples of green building programs in the United States. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment.

Green building on college campuses is the purposeful construction of buildings on college campuses that decreases resource usage in both the building process and also the future use of the building. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions, energy use, and water use, while creating an atmosphere where students can be healthy and learn.

The California Sustainability Alliance is an organization funded by the California IOUs, to facilitate discussions between various industries on the issues of resource sustainability. The Alliance was set up in 2008 to help California meet its goals in facing Climate change in the State, in relation to energy, resources, and the environment. Efforts are directed at increasing and accelerating sustainable measures and strategies. The Alliance specifically focuses on energy efficiency, climate action, “smart growth” principles, renewable energy development, water-use efficiency, waste management, and transportation management within California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainability at American colleges and universities</span>

"Sustainability," was defined as “development which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”as defined by the 1983 Brundtland Commission. As sustainability gains support and momentum worldwide, universities across the United States have expanded initiatives towards more sustainable campuses, commitments, academic offerings, and student engagement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable urbanism</span> Study of cities and the practices to build them

Sustainable urbanism is both the study of cities and the practices to build them (urbanism), that focuses on promoting their long term viability by reducing consumption, waste and harmful impacts on people and place while enhancing the overall well-being of both people and place. Well-being includes the physical, ecological, economic, social, health and equity factors, among others, that comprise cities and their populations. In the context of contemporary urbanism, the term cities refers to several scales of human settlements from towns to cities, metropolises and mega-city regions that includes their peripheries / suburbs / exurbs. Sustainability is a key component to professional practice in urban planning and urban design along with its related disciplines landscape architecture, architecture, and civil and environmental engineering. Green urbanism and ecological urbanism are other common terms that are similar to sustainable urbanism, however they can be construed as focusing more on the natural environment and ecosystems and less on economic and social aspects. Also related to sustainable urbanism are the practices of land development called Sustainable development, which is the process of physically constructing sustainable buildings, as well as the practices of urban planning called smart growth or growth management, which denote the processes of planning, designing, and building urban settlements that are more sustainable than if they were not planned according to sustainability criteria and principles.

A green bank is a financial institution, typically public or quasi-public, that employs innovative financing techniques and market development tools in collaboration with the private sector to expedite the deployment of clean energy technologies. Green banks use public funds to leverage private investment in clean energy technologies that, despite their commercial viability, have struggled to establish a widespread presence in consumer markets. Green banks aim to reduce energy costs for ratepayers, stimulate private sector investment and economic activity, and expedite the transition to a low-carbon economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green industrial policy</span> Strategic government policy

Green industrial policy (GIP) is strategic government policy that attempts to accelerate the development and growth of green industries to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Green industrial policy is necessary because green industries such as renewable energy and low-carbon public transportation infrastructure face high costs and many risks in terms of the market economy. Therefore, they need support from the public sector in the form of industrial policy until they become commercially viable. Natural scientists warn that immediate action must occur to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Social scientists argue that the mitigation of climate change requires state intervention and governance reform. Thus, governments use GIP to address the economic, political, and environmental issues of climate change. GIP is conducive to sustainable economic, institutional, and technological transformation. It goes beyond the free market economic structure to address market failures and commitment problems that hinder sustainable investment. Effective GIP builds political support for carbon regulation, which is necessary to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Several governments use different types of GIP that lead to various outcomes. The Green Industry plays a pivotal role in creating a sustainable and environmentally responsible future; By prioritizing resource efficiency, renewable energy, and eco-friendly practices, this industry significantly benefits society and the planet at large.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). IEE is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to the development of science and technologies that increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and support an efficient and sustainable energy future.

References

  1. ↑ "USGBC Announces 2011 Leadership Award Winners". Eco-Structure Magazine. September 28, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 "Coalition Partners". Smart Surfaces Coalition. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mission and Values". Smart Surfaces Coalition. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  4. ↑ "The History and Lessons of Creating IPMVP". Energy Valuation Organization.
  5. ↑ "Smart Surfaces Coalition". Smart Surfaces Coalition. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  6. ↑ "SSC India". Smart Surfaces Coalition. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  7. ↑ "About Us – Capital E".
  8. ↑ "Portfolio – Capital E".
  9. ↑ "LEED Must Be Updated To Address Climate Change". LEEDuser. 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  10. ↑ "Here's How Much Money Green Design Could Save Cities". Next City.
  11. ↑ "Green Building Advisory Committee".
  12. ↑ "The Green Ribbon Committee | sustainable". sustainable.dc.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  13. ↑ Internet, Secovi-SP - O Sindicato da Habitação na. "Tornando nosso ambiente mais sustentável". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  14. ↑ "Good to Go Green: SFO Unveils Carbon Offset Kiosks | San Francisco International Airport". FlySFO | San Francisco International Airport. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  15. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ "Clean Feet Investors".
  17. ↑ Council, National Research; Affairs, Policy Global; Board On Science, Technology; Century, Committee on Comparative National Innovation Policies: Best Practice for the 21st (2012). Front Matter - Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for the Global Economy - The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/13386. ISBN   978-0-309-25551-6. PMID   22953359.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  18. ↑ Leonnig, Carol D.; Eilperin, Juliet (2011-10-06). "Amid Solyndra crisis, head of federal loan program resigns". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  19. ↑ "Obama Administration Green Energy Programs | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  20. ↑ "House Oversight Committee" (PDF). Greg Kats Testimony. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-02.
  21. ↑ "Solyndra Losses a Fraction of Default Budget: BGOV Barometer". Bloomberg.com. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  22. ↑ "Loan-Guarantee Winners Back Loans as Republicans Complain". Bloomberg. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Statement of Gregory H. Kats President of Capital E Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform" (PDF). May 16, 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Industry Transformation". Capital E. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03.
  25. ↑ Kats, Greg; Perlman, Jeff; Jamadagni, Sachin (December 2005). "National Review of Green Schools: Costs, Benefits, and Implications for Massachusetts A Report for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative" (PDF). Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
  26. ↑ "Delivering Urban Resilience" (PDF).
  27. ↑ "Here's How Much Money Green Design Could Save Cities" . Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  28. ↑ "City Implementation".
  29. ↑ "U.S. Green Building Council Announces Recipients of 2011 Leadership Awards | U.S. Green Building Council". www.usgbc.org. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  30. ↑ "Gregory H. Kats, Hon. AIA - AIA".
  31. ↑ "Green School Design: Cost-Effective, Healthy, and Better for Education".
  32. ↑ "Greg Kats Class of 1981 interview". Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.