Engaging Communities in Sustainable Design

Cascadia's New CEO Looks Forward to Getting the Public Involved in the Green Building Movement

Cascadia's new president pursues a lifelong interest in sustainability in the Northwest.

Growing up in the shadow of the largest acid-rain producing smokestack in the world could have left Jason F. McLennan disillusioned about environmental issues.

Instead, he became a lifelong environmentalist and proactive pioneer of the green building movement. "I grew up in Sudbury, Ontario - home of the world's largest smokestack," said McLennan, the new CEO of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, which is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. "The whole area went through massive environmental degradation as a result of the nickel mining industry. But watching the community turn it around and heal that area was inspiring. It became a hotbed of green building and actually earned a United Nations commendation for its re-greening efforts.

"As a child, I helped with the re-greening efforts, and I ended up becoming a lifelong environmentalist."

McLennan brings his passion for the environment and pursuit of sustainable development and green building to the Northwest after being a principal at BNIM Architects in Kansas City. He and his wife and three children, ages 10, 3, and 1, moved to Seattle in August.

"I wasn't looking for a new position," he said. "But I just happened to see the opening on the Green Building Council's Web site, and I recognized it immediately as a tremendous opportunity to encourage sustainable development in the Northwest and beyond."

McLennan is a published author of three books on sustainable development and is a recognized leader in the green building community. His books include The Philosophy of Sustainable Design, The Ecological Engineer and The Dumb Architect's Guide to Glazing Selection. He was also named to Building Design and Construction's "40 Under 40" list in March 2006; the list recognizes building and design professionals under 40 who excel in their fields.

McLennan received his undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Oregon, where he specialized in green design and served as the director of the Solar Information Center at the university. While directing the center, McLennan focused on disseminating information about sustainable development and the role of solar energy in green building. He also has a master's degree in architecture from the University of Kansas.

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"Sustainable design is an interesting phrase in that it can mean different things to different people," he said. "When I talk about it, I emphasize that it's a philosophical approach to building where we seek to minimize the impact on the environment while maximizing quality and creating livable and workable environments for people."

McLennan added that the green building movement is the fastest-growing trend in the building industry. "We see people greening buildings of multiple types and multiple scales," he said. "The barriers to building green are diminishing more and more each year. People are starting to understand that for a reasonable budget, and with the right team, you can have a really high-performing green building that also has a good impact on the bottom line."

The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is one of the three original chapters of the U. S. Green Building Council and covers Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Even though the chapter's staff includes only five full-time staff and two contract workers, Cascadia has approximately 300 individual members and over 250 supporting organizations. Members and supporters include architects, engineers, contractors, government agencies, and the general public. Cascadia also reaches over 7,500 "e-mail constituents" through a free monthly e-mail newsletter and other e-mail announcements.

McLennan is quick to say that even with his expertise, he needs to "get up to speed on a lot of things this chapter does. This group hasn't been waiting for me to do great stuff. It has things going on all the time - community outreach, workshops, events - and a lot of volunteer opportunities available.

"One of the things I want to do is encourage the public to get involved in the green building movement," McLennan added. "I've seen some great results from projects where green building principles were applied. The whole community is impacted where a green building goes up. People start to understand that building green is about building sustainable communities, creating connections between building systems and ultimately creating green communities and neighborhoods where the whole infrastructure uses the principles of sustainable design."

McLennan sees the future of green building as nearly limitless. "I've been working for some years on the concept of a living building - a truly sustainable building that produces all of its own energy and harvests its own water," he sad. "My hope is to begin educating the public that this level of performance is possible today." The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is launching a series of lectures this fall across the Northwest. For more information about where and when McLennan will speak, visit the Cascadia Chapter's Web site at chapters.usgbc.org/cascadiagbc/.