Inside the 2025 California Green Building Conference: Insights Driving Real Estate Sustainability
JUNE 3, 2025On May 22, Verdani and the Verdani Institute for the Built Environment (VIBE) joined California’s top sustainability and green building professionals in San Francisco for the 2025 USGBC California Green Building Conference, hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council California. Held at the scenic Fort Mason Center overlooking the bay, the event brought together city leaders, sustainability experts, architects, engineers, and advocates to explore actionable strategies for creating sustainable buildings, infrastructure, and communities across the state.
Verdani and VIBE contributed on multiple fronts — sharing insights, leading discussions, and engaging directly with peers throughout the day:
Carli Schoenleber and Julian Smith from VIBE and Dave Intner from Southern California Edison, Southern California’s primary electric utility, presented in a morning session, “Pathways to Portfolio-Level Decarbonization.” The session featured research from VIBE’s upcoming guidance report, featuring insights from 16 commercial real estate sustainability leaders (sign up here to receive VIBE’s decarbonization report).
Kristen Wernick and Julie Jacobson from Verdani’s Biodiversity team led an afternoon table talk, “Nature-Based Solutions for Immediate Impact,” where they discussed nature-based strategies to support biodiversity, tenant wellbeing, and emissions reduction.
Both teams hosted expo tables to connect with attendees, listen to real-world challenges, and answer questions about turning sustainability ambition into scalable action.
Informed by diverse voices across sessions, table talks, and conversations, we've gathered five key insights that reflect what's working, and what’s next, for advancing a more sustainable built environment in California and beyond.
Five Key Insights from the Conference
1. Collaboration and Community are Fueling Momentum
The conference reinforced that real sustainability progress is being driven not just by mandates, but by community, creativity, and collaboration. Opening remarks highlighted San Francisco’s leadership on climate action, including bold policies like banning natural gas in new construction. These local efforts, paired with cross-sector partnerships and deep community engagement, are proving what is possible — even amid policy uncertainty at the federal level.
Throughout the day, speakers emphasized that this work doesn’t happen in silos. When governments, nonprofits, and private sector leaders come together around shared goals, they accelerate scalable, actionable solutions that benefit both the environment and communities. The conference's optimistic tone and sense of shared purpose reflected a growing movement: one where local leadership is a catalyst for national progress.
The conference's optimistic tone and sense of shared purpose reflected a growing movement: one where local leadership is a catalyst for national progress.
“The 2025 California Green Building Conference was a powerful reminder of the collective momentum driving our industry forward. From wildfire resilience and equitable decarbonization to scalable solutions for portfolio-level implementation, the insights shared reinforced the urgent need for collaboration across sectors. At Verdani, we are proud to be part of a community that is not just envisioning a more sustainable future — but actively building it.”
DANIELE HORTON, FOUNDER AND CEO, VERDANI PARTNERS2. Climate Goals Need Compelling Narratives to Succeed
Scaling decarbonization requires more than technical upgrades: it takes internal alignment and strategic communication. As shared during VIBE’s morning session “Pathways to Portfolio-Level Decarbonization: Real-World Insights from Industry Leaders,” interview research of 16 sustainable real estate leaders revealed that leading organizations often rely on internal “translators” who connect facilities and finance teams, turning climate goals into actionable business cases.
From left to right: Dave Intner, Daniele Horton, Carli Schoenleber, Julian Smith, Bennett Rea
VIBE Fellow Julian Smith sharing VIBE’s interview research results
Successful implementation hinges on understanding real decision-makers and tailoring messages to their values, priorities, and risk tolerance.
Later that day, the session “Talking to Clients About Decarbonization” reinforced this theme: successful implementation hinges on understanding real decision-makers and tailoring messages to their values, priorities, and risk tolerance. The most effective strategies frame decarbonization as a path to high performance (not an ideological stance) and present it as the default, not a costly add-on.
“This year, I had the opportunity to both present and attend sessions, and one theme that stood out was the central role of communication and engagement in driving decarbonization. Decarbonizing real estate portfolios depends not just on access to technology and financing, but on strategic messaging and storytelling across disciplines. To move from intention to implementation, companies need communication strategies that resonate and mobilize.”
CARLI SCHOENLEBER, LEAD AUTHOR, VIBE; SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, VERDANI PARTNERS“Setting commitments, defining targets, and outlining strategies mean little without first communicating the ‘why’ to your audience. Securing stakeholder buy-in is the strongest foundation for meaningful progress. It was a pleasure engaging attendees at Verdani’s booth, where we had the opportunity to listen, address real questions, and help clarify initiatives that prioritize outcomes over intentions.”
JESSICA LOEPER, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, VERDANI PARTNEROne of the most compelling demonstrations came during the afternoon session featuring Chef Rachelle Boucher of the Building Decarbonization Coalition, who leads the Chefluencer Program. This initiative trains a diverse community of chefs to champion kitchen electrification by showcasing modern electric appliances through interactive events, culinary storytelling, and shared meals, helping shift perceptions and behaviors around gas versus electric cooking.
“The final afternoon presentation with a renowned local chef who had made the switch to induction cooking was especially inspiring. Electric cooking not only reduces emissions; it also improves indoor air quality by eliminating pollution from natural gas. It was powerful to see how targeted stakeholder engagement with chefs can shift perceptions and build support for electrified kitchens.”
JULIE JACOBSON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY, VERDANI PARTNERS3. Landscapes are a Powerful but Underused Climate Solution
This year’s conference underscored that landscapes are far more than visual amenities; they’re strategic assets in the fight against climate change. Multiple sessions emphasized how landscape architecture can contribute to climate-positive design through carbon sequestration, biodiversity support, and regenerative site practices. Strategies like preserving undeveloped land, restoring degraded ecosystems, and increasing soil organic carbon can deliver meaningful environmental benefits across the project lifecycle.
This year’s conference underscored that landscapes are far more than visual amenities; they’re strategic assets in the fight against climate change.
At Verdani’s table talk, “Nature-Based Solutions for Immediate Impact,” Kristen Wernick and Julie Jacobson led a discussion on seven practical ways building owners can align landscape practices with sustainability goals. From minimizing non-functional turf and electrifying landscape maintenance to managing rainwater on-site and planting for urban cooling, the conversation highlighted how green space can enhance both environmental performance and tenant experience.
Kristen Wernick and Julie Jacobson leading table talk on nature-based landscaping practices
“A strong theme at this year's conference was how great the potential is for building landscapes to support not only nature but also an organization's decarbonization and overall sustainability goals. At Verdani's table talk, we had a lively discussion with attendees regarding seven key strategies building owners and operators can implement to benefit nature and company objectives. Our urban landscapes are an incredible opportunity to create win-wins for building owners, tenants, the community, and wildlife.”
KRISTEN WERNICK, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY, VERDANI PARTNERS4. Electrification Must be Sequenced for Success
The decarbonization case study of One Maritime Plaza and 150 California underscored why energy efficiency should precede electrification — especially in complex, multi-tenant buildings. As panelists explained, starting with efficiency reduces the building’s overall energy use and peak heating and cooling loads. This allows for smaller, more affordable electric systems, making electrification more feasible from both a technical and financial standpoint.
These steps helped translate high-level climate goals into coordinated implementation plans that account for operational constraints, tenant coordination, and long-term investment timelines.
The projects also demonstrated the importance of a charrette process to align stakeholders early, identify inefficiencies and barriers, and create a shared roadmap with phased strategies, cost estimates, and performance metrics. These steps helped translate high-level climate goals into coordinated implementation plans that account for operational constraints, tenant coordination, and long-term investment timelines.
“The 2025 California Green Building Conference provided critical insights into how strategic decarbonization planning is evolving in real time. The case study session on One Maritime Plaza and 150 California demonstrated the importance of sequencing energy efficiency upgrades before electrification. Seeing how these buildings addressed system integration, capital planning, and tenant alignment underscored that decarbonization is as much a technical challenge as it is an operational and financial one.”
MEI TSURUTA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY, VERDANI PARTNERS 5. Real Resilience is Local, Proactive, and Community-Driven
Resilience isn’t just about rebuilding after disaster — it’s about building smarter, stronger, and more equitably from the start. Speakers emphasized that true resilience begins with proactive strategies that integrate multiple systems, from water and energy to waste and housing. Rebuilding efforts must go beyond physical design to include community-owned utilities, nature-based infrastructure, and long-term advocacy at the city and regional level.
Resilience isn’t just about rebuilding after disaster — it’s about building smarter, stronger, and more equitably from the start.
Panelists shared firsthand experiences from post-wildfire recovery, underscoring the emotional toll, permitting delays, and infrastructure gaps that complicate rebuilding in high-risk areas. Equity emerged as a central theme, with calls for more inclusive planning processes, faster policy response, and targeted support for vulnerable communities. Supporting local labor and rooting out post-disaster contractor fraud were also identified as essential steps toward recovery that benefits local communities.
"A great benefit of regional green building conferences is the concentration of localized knowledge and experience to bring concepts of sustainability and resilience to life. Many of the resilience-focused sessions drew upon real life lessons from the devastating 2017 wildfires in Sonoma County, for which many attendees were in recent memory. Themes of connecting building hardening and adaptation with community resilience to bounce back from climate-related shocks came to the forefront as local experts shared examples of real-life success. Further, many of the resources for planning and organizing in the event of fire weather events that can ignite wildfires can be shared and extrapolated for other Verdani clients with assets outside of the Bay Area and California."
ZACHARY BROWN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY, VERDANI PARTNERS
Left to right: Julie Jacobson, Carli Schoenleber, Jessica Loeper, Daniele Horton, Mei Tsuruta
Conclusion
From portfolio-level decarbonization to nature-based solutions and wildfire resilience, the 2025 California Green Building Conference showcased how creative solutions and collaboration are driving the next chapter of sustainable real estate — in California and beyond.
We’re proud to be part of a community that’s not just envisioning what’s possible, but actively building it together.
Thank you to USGBC California for bringing this community together. See you next year!
Copyright © 2025 Verdani LLC. All rights reserved. The information contained within this publication was developed using Verdani’s general professional judgment. This publication was prepared without reference to any specific property or scenario and is not intended to substitute for the professional advice of an attorney, engineer, or other climate change professional. Content and data subject to change. Similar outcomes are not guaranteed based on prior results. Neither Verdani LLC nor its employees or agents can be held responsible for the use or misuse of the information contained herein, and Verdani LLC hereby disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of this information, including without limitation, direct, indirect, or consequential damages including personal injury, property loss, loss of revenue, loss of opportunity, or other loss.
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