USGBC Texas - Event Calendar

West: Green Drinks El Paso

Start
Thursday, July 31, 2025
End
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Schedule
3 sessions
Location
Old Sheepdog Brewery, 3900 Rosa Ave, El Paso
Registered
2 registrants

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Join us for Green Drinks!

Last Thursday of Every Month

Jul 31 Aug 28 Sept 25

5:30 pm

3900 Rosa

El Paso, Texas 79905

Free Networking! Donations Appreciated!

Change doesn’t happen all at once—it happens choice by choice, moment by moment, person by person. At USGBC Texas, we believe that every individual has the power to create lasting impact, and that together, we can transform the future of our communities and our state. You're donation supports our mission to transform the built environment in communities across Texas!

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Central: Green Coffee Hour at Easy Tiger

When
Thursday, September 04, 2025
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Location
Easy Tiger, 6406 N I-35 Frontage Rd, Suite 1100, Austin, TX 78752
Registered
6 registrants

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GREEN COFFEE HOUR

Thursday, September 4th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM

Easy Tiger North

6406 N I-35 Frontage, Suite1100
Austin, TX 78752

About the Event

The Central Regional Council of USGBC-Texas hosts Green Coffee Hours each month, open to the public. This FREE event offers the opportunity to meet and network with people in green careers: architecture, engineering, sustainability, environmental governance professions, and more. For updates and additional information, please be sure to RSVP.

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Central: Regional Council Meeting

When
Thursday, September 04, 2025
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location
TBD

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Join the USGBC Texas Central Region Council during its Monthly Meetings. During these meetings, members will be encouraged to engage with the Regional Council and State leadership, learn about current and upcoming (local, state, and national) events, provide input, and ask questions.

For more information on the regional council go here. To view upcoming events go here, and to learn how to get involved go here.

For any questions, email Central Region Chair Ashley Besic at abesic@buildingdecarb.org or Chapter Executive Director Jonathan Kraatz at jonathan@usgbctexas.org.

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South: Thursday Night Live - Financing Sustainability

When
Thursday, September 04, 2025
5:30 PM - 7:15 PM
Location
Grand Hall at Quinta Mazatlan, 600 Sunset Dr., McAllen, Tx 78503
Spaces left
27
Registered
23 registrants

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Sponsorship Opportunities still available. Contact us for details!

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Webinar: Making Zero Emissions Building the New Normal

When
Friday, September 05, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Series runs February 7, 2025 to January 9, 2026.

The USGBC First Friday series is back by popular demand, but this year – with a twist! We’ll still gather online over midday on the First Friday of each month for leading-edge education, but in 2025, we'll alternate live education sessions with highly rated, previously recorded sessions from past USGBC programming.

Take a look at our lineup below, then follow the registration link to sign up for our entire series!

September 5 | recorded at Greenbuild 24 | Making Zero Emissions Buildings the New Normal
October 3 | LIVE | TRUE Total Resource Management | Speaker: Stephanie Barger
November 7 | recorded at Greenbuild 24 | Equity at Scale: Exploring LEED's Role in Creating More Just Buildings and Communities
December 5 | LIVE | Information Forthcoming
January 9 (moved for holiday) | recorded at Greenbuild 24 | Getting Green for Green: Using Sustainable Finance Strategies for Green Building Investments

As always, our First Friday education series is free for USGBC members and USGBC Texas members (code provided via email) and $10 per session for nonmembers. Not a member? Learn more about becoming a member here.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to earn education hours and keep up with the latest at USGBC and in green building. Follow the registration prompt below, and be sure to register using the email address that is linked to your usgbc.org member account.

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Webinar: Beyond Buzzwords - Real Talk for Real Sustainability Results

When
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Virtual

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Beyond Buzzwords:
Real Talk for Real Sustainability Results

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Virtual Session 12:00 - 1:00 PM (CT)

About the Presentation:

In a time when progress in the built environment is urgently needed, the conversation has never been harder to navigate. Between constraints, competing priorities, and partisan noise, the message of sustainable, resilient, and healthy buildings is too often drowned out.

This high-impact webinar arms professionals and policymakers with storytelling strategies and messaging tools that cut through the noise and connect with any audience—whether they’re sustainability champions or skeptics.

Here’s how it works: We’ll tackle 10 questions—the real ones people are asking—about the business case, human impact, and resilience value of green building. At least five will be prepared in advance, while the rest will come directly from participants. This means your challenges, your client conversations, and your communication hurdles will drive the dialogue.

Sample Questions We’ll Explore:

For clients who don’t prioritize sustainability, what are compelling reasons to pursue LEED or other certifications?

How can we shift owners’ focus from first costs to lifecycle value?

What You’ll Learn:

Speak Their Language – Identify client priorities and translate sustainability into clear business advantages that align with their goals.
Build the Business Case – Communicate how efficiency, resilience, and resource management directly support economics, stewardship, and business continuity.
Plan for the Unplanned – Show how designing for resilience protects infrastructure, operations, and adaptability in an era of extreme weather.
Make it Personal – Share the health and productivity benefits of high-performance buildings that reduce healthcare costs and foster a loyal workforce.

Your Call to Action:

Don’t let your message get lost. Join us to sharpen your communication edge, amplify your influence, and ensure that every conversation about the built environment moves us closer to a sustainable, equitable future.

Add Your Question on the Registration Form—and make sure your voice shapes the discussion.

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Gulf: Tour - Jack's Cafe & Houston Zoo

When
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location
4501 Hwy 360, Fort Worth, Tx 76155
Spaces left
29
Registered
1 registrant

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Tour: Jack's Cafe & Houston Zoo

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

10:00 AM - Noon

Houston Zoo
6200 Hermann Park Drive
Houston, Tx 77030

About the Event:

This exclusive, fast-paced tour will focus on how the Houston Zoo’s LEED-certified buildings help the organization shrink its environmental footprint and operate sustainably to save wildlife.

Beginning with the newly opened Jack’s Café and Reflections event center, the Zoo’s first mass timber building and the final piece of its centennial master plan, the tour will then move through the Zoo’s most recently opened exhibit and back-of-house projects. In addition to Jack’s Café, tour stops will include three LEED Gold projects: the Birds of the World exhibit and Avian Care Environment, renovated West Admin staff building, and Houston Zoo Headquarters. Hear about the challenges of working on a century-old campus, supporting Zoo staff and animals, and balancing world-class facilities with resource conservation.

Tour Guides:

Colley Hodges, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, SITES AP
Sustainability Director

Mark Hoffman, P.E., LEED Green Associate
Senior Director of Planning, Design, and Engineering

Gretchen Foust, P.E.
Project Manager

Mo De La Piedra, P.E., CFM
Project Manager

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Virtual: Kirksey's Green Associate Class

When
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location
Virtually

LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE
VIRTUAL PREP COURSE

Kirksey Architecture
Virtual Class
Wednesday, September 10, 2024
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Free Class

About this event:

Demonstrating our commitment to sustainability through LEED Green Associate training.

In order to achieve truly green projects, everyone on a project team – contractor, engineer, developer, owner, and others – need to understand green building principles. Kirksey Sustainability has developed a rigorous preparatory class focused on the LEED Green Associate exam and has graduated over 2,200 industry partners. Classes are typically taught twice per year.

LEED Green Associate Prep Class Information

With the growing influence of environmentally responsible design and construction practices, a knowledge of green building strategies is a valuable asset for anyone associated with the building industry. Kirksey's LEED Green Associate Prep Class is a resource for those who are interested in gaining the LEED Green Associate credential. Kirksey does not offer a LEED AP prep class.

Register Now

Location: Virtual Class - please register for details

There is a limit of two class attendances per person. Attendees must be 21 years or older. Kirksey reserves the right to cancel classes up to 48 hours in advance in the event of low registration. Attendees who require special accommodations must notify Kirksey at least two weeks prior to the class.

Class participants are responsible for scheduling their exam date. For more information, visit www.gbci.org.

Link to registration: https://www.kirksey.com/sustainability/leed-classes-signup

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South: Green Coffee - San Antonio

When
Thursday, September 11, 2025
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Location
Commonwealth Coffeehouse & Bakery - 203 E. Jones Ave. Suite 101, San Antonio, TX, 78215
Registered
1 registrant

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North: Adopt a Shoreline at White Rock Lake

When
Saturday, September 13, 2025
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Location
White Rock Lake
Registered
3 registrants

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Adopt a Shoreline
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025
9:00 AM-11:00 AM

White Rock Lake

(see map below)
Dallas, TX

About the Event:

Come volunteer with USGBC Texas at White Rock Lake Park and help keep it litter-free!

The Adopt-A-Shoreline program is a Dallas Park and Recreation Department program administered by For the Love of the Lake.

USGBC Texas has been assigned shoreline #6. FTLOTL will provide materials that support our cleaning needs (trash bags, gloves, etc.) that will be replenished as necessary.

Meet in the parking area for the Winfrey Point Baseball Fields.

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USGBC Leadership Series: Building Resilience in Texas and LEED v5

When
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location
Q2 Stadium, 10414 McKalla Pl, Austin, Tx 78758

Building Resilience in Texas & LEED v5 Leadership Forum
Tuesday, September 16
10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Q2 Stadium
10414 McKalla Pl.
Austin, Tx 78758

Join USGBC and USGBC Texas for a Building Transformation Forum exploring leading-edge examples, best practices and USGBC tools and resources to support your resilience goals, followed by a Leadership Series event focused on the latest version of the LEED green building rating system.

This event will include a tour of our venue, Austin's LEED Gold and TRUE Zero Waste Gold certified Q2 Stadium and a networking lunch celebrating the 25th anniversary of LEED.

Register now through USGBC Event Portal

Resilience in the Built Environment

The importance of resilience in our built environment cannot be overstated. 2023 and 2024 saw the highest number of billion-dollar disasters on record in U.S. history (NOAA). The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events—hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat—threaten infrastructure, property, and public safety. Resilient, sustainable design is critical to reducing risk and strengthening our communities.

The Forum will include a Resilience Industry Panel and a tour of our venue, Austin's LEED Gold and TRUE Zero Waste Gold certified Q2 Stadium.

LEED v5 Leadership Series

Following the Forum, attendees will take a deep dive into LEED v5, the latest version of the LEED green building rating system, and explore how LEED v5 addresses critical impact areas, including decarbonization, biodiversity, resilience, health and equity. Attendees will gain insights into real-world adoption strategies, stakeholder engagement techniques, and available resources to implement LEED v5 successfully in current and future projects.

Continuing Education:

Building Transformation Forum -- GBCI CE: 2 LEED-Specific Rating System: LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP Homes, LEED AP ID+C, LEED AP ND, LEED AP O+M, LEED Green Associate, SITES AP
AIA Hours: 2 LU/HSW

Leadership Series -GBCI CE hours: 1 LEED-Specific Rating System: LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP O+M, LEED Green Associate
AIA Hours: 1 LU

Register now through USGBC Event Portal

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Central: Green School Tour + Happy Hour

When
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
3:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Location
900 Thompson Street, Austin, TX 78702
Spaces left
33
Registered
17 registrants

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Tour: Austin ISD Green School

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Eastside Early College High School

900 Thompson Street

Austin, TX 78702

Networking Happy Hour (immediately following the tour)

5:15 PM - 7:00 PM

Central Machines Works

4824 E Cesar Chavez Street

Austin, TX 78702

About the Event:

Eastside Early College High School was recently awarded an AIA National Education Facility Design award for its design that intentionally connects a marginalized community, acknowledging its past, supporting its present, and offering opportunities for its future. The building's base incorporates the original Anderson High School's brick and midcentury modern lines, honoring the deep African American history of the site. Rising from this foundation, the new campus symbolizes the perseverance of a community whose school was closed by federal court order during desegregation.

The new school embraces sustainability through a compact, four-story design that maximizes efficiency, reduces embodied carbon through efficiently designed steel structure, and integrates reused materials like salvaged brick and hardwood from the original campus. Native landscaping, rain gardens, a multi-tiered runoff detention system, and condensate collection support water conservation and biodiversity. Daylighting was maximized through a glazing study that led to energy-efficient overhangs, enhancing both comfort and performance. The project also includes resiliency measures such as backup power, emergency supplies, and storm protection to serve the broader community in times of need.

Tour Hosted by:

Perkins&Will and Austin ISD

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Women in Carbon Documentary - Screening

When
Thursday, September 25, 2025
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location
In-person Screening

Documentary Screening - Women in Carbon

Thursday, September 24, 2025

In-person movie screening at a location near you:

Austin
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio
El Paso
Rio Grand Valley

(Location details coming soon! )

4:00 pm onwards

About the Documentary:

Join us for a groundbreaking documentary on women transforming construction while combating climate change. Echoing the spirit of the original Industrial Revolution, these visionary women are on a quest to inspire change for a sustainable planet. Their innovative work places them at the core of decarbonization, human health and economic opportunity. Directed by Basia + Leonard Myszynski, “Women of Carbon” shares their empowering journeys and collective vision for a better world.

Their creative and comprehensive examination of low-carbon building materials and technologies—ranging from algae-based alternative cement and electrified manufacturing to mass timber and greener steel—centers on the next generation infrastructure materials.

These innovative women and more are redefining our relationship with carbon by repurposing living materials, reengineering waste into valuable chemicals that clean the climate, and driving decarbonization in our built environment. They share life/work challenges while thriving in male-dominated industries. Their collective wisdom comes together to form a singular belief and purpose to restore, protect and ultimately preserve the planet.

In the words of featured CEO Dr. Jennifer Holmgren: “The climate is not going to negotiate with us.”

WoC Website

WoC Linkedln

The film was made possible by Nucor Corporation / American Wood Council / Hines / Timberlab / Interface / Softwood Lumber Board

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