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Tour of University of Texas: Gary L. Thompson Energy Engineering Building & UT Austin Power Plant
Tour Start Power Plant Conf. Room PPE 3.304 (see map in confirmation) Thursday, February 27th, 2025
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Happy Hour (immediately following the tour)
Crown and Anchor Pub 2911 San Jacinto Blvd Austin, TX 78705
About the Event:
Please join us for a tour of the two UT Austin campus buildings on February 27th – 3:30-5:30pm, followed by a happy hour at Crown and Anchor Pub (2911 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78705)!
Closed toed shoes are needed for the tours. The tours will begin at the PPE building in conference room 3.304.
UT Austin Power plant (PPE):
UT Austin's Power Plant supplies almost 100% of the power and thermal requirements for over 20 million square feet serving 70,000 faculty, students and staff.
In 2014, UT Austin became the first university campus certified under the PEER rating system. Modeled on LEED and administered by GBCI, PEER measures and analyzes power system performance, validating progress and offering guidelines for future improvements to reduce energy losses, lower emissions and operating costs, and provide resilient, steady power systems. PEER looks at everything, essentially, from the transformer to the meter to identify things you can do to improve your resilience and reliability. Just like LEED encourages best practices in sustainability, PEER does that for power systems. In May 2020, after UT Austin recertified under PEER v2, the project earned Platinum certification.
Tour Guides:
Xavier Rivera Marzan, Executive Director for Utilities and Energy Management, UT AustinRyan L Thompson, Director of Utilities – Operations for Utilities and Energy Management, UT AustinJim Walker, Director of Sustainability, UT AustinMatt Stevens, Planner, UT Austin
Gary L Thomas (GLT) Energy Engineering Building:
The Gary L. Thomas Energy Engineering Building is a LEEDv4 Platinum building that serves as a multidisciplinary hub for energy-related education, research and innovation on the UT Austin campus. It combines many sustainable and resilient strategies into one building while connecting strategically through an open plaza to the Speedway Mall, a pedestrian focused spine on the main campus. Many sustainable features of the site and the building that contributed towards its LEED certification will be featured in the tour.
Amy Ruffino, Architecture Studio Lead & Project Manager, Jacobs EngineeringAndres Mazry, Senior Project Architect – Jacobs EngineeringJim Walker, Director of Sustainability, UT AustinMatt Stevens, Planner, UT Austin
Picnic Table Build Day Saturday, March 1 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
With the success of prior years' picnic tables fundraising and volunteering project, we are planning to do it again!
Outdoor time in schools is known to benefit students’ mental and physical health and wellbeing in multiple ways but not all schools have the resources to allow for outdoor time. Some facilities, especially Title 1 schools around the city do not have outdoor furniture to help facilitate class instruction or outdoor dining.
We, at USGBC Texas, are fundraising to be able to buy picnic table kits to serve multiple local schools. Once we raise sufficient funds, we will organize a volunteering day to put the tables together and distribute to the identified schools.
We are calling on our community and corporate partners to assist with this effort. Whether this is monetary or an in-kind volunteer donation, we would be ever so grateful to have your support. We plan to partner with local school campuses and build approximately 30 outdoor dining tables (estimated cost = $5,000). If we are able to raise more money, we would provide more tables and cater to more schools.
Picnic table build day will take place Saturday, March 1st, from 8am to 1pm at Reilly Elementary School, 405 Denson Dr, Austin, TX 78752.
Sign up to volunteer!
Sponsor a Table/Donate!
Thank you to our event sponsors:
For questions on this project email green_schools@usgbctexas.org.
GREEN COFFEE HOUR
Thursday, March 6th 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.
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.
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!
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.
USGBC TEXASSTATE ADVOCACY DAY
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025
Show your support for green building and sustainable development practices in Texas by joining us to educate legislators on State Advocacy Day.
State Advocacy Day is USGBC Texas' biennial coordinated advocacy outreach to Texas state legislators and lawmakers. Armed with an engaged coalition, our goal is to expand Texas Green Building Advocacy dialogue with legislators and with each other to gain momentum during this legislative session. USGBC Chapter members and friends are invited to join us in educating our legislators on green building and sustainable development related issues.
The day will start with volunteer training and lunch, followed by legislative visits at the Texas State Capitol. You'll have the opportunity to meet with your representatives to express any concerns, educate them and present support for potential legislation.
Narrative of Priorities (download link coming soon)
10:00 am - 12:00 pm: Mandatory Advocate TrainingAgricultural Museum at the Capitol, 1008 West Ave, Austin, TX 78701
Essential training in preparation for legislative visits.
1:00 pm-5:00 pm: Legislative Meetings Texas Capitol
Prearranged (and drop-in) visits with House and Senate elected officials. You'll have the opportunity to meet with representative's office to express any concerns, educate them and present support for potential legislation.
5:30pm-7:00 pm: VIP Reception Cushing Terrell, 316 W. 12th St. Ste. 300, Austin, TX 78701
Join us for drinks and snacks, and mingle with green building and sustainability advocates from throughout the state along with legislators and their senior staff.
Thanks to our Sponsors!
The Chapter’s focus goes beyond individual buildings to sustainability more broadly, including water conservation and protection, land use planning and conservation, multimodal transportation and urban redevelopment. At USGBC, we work with government, member businesses, and allied organizations to support policies and programs that advance greener buildings and communities for a better planet and a better future.
USGBC Texas has five broad Advocacy priorities:
Government Leadership by Example
We assert green building as a priority in Texas and make inroad relationships with legislators
Private Sector Market Transformation
We strive to highlight green building as a driving force for smart development in the private sector
Raising the Bar on Codes and Regulations
Local adoption of green building codes is beneficial for both businesses and the environment and Texas should set the standard for the adoption of sustainable development practices
Community-wide Sustainability
Promote community-wide sustainability including advocacy work and education at state and local levels, providing advocacy support for local sustainability plans
Green Schools
Communicate the benefits of green schools to local school districts through our members and with the Green Schools Caucus to emphasize the 3 pillars of a green school:
Reduced environmental impacts and costs Improved occupant health and wellness Effective environmental and sustainability education through Green Apple Day of Service
Thursday, April 3rd at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Central: Tour - Big City Crushed Concrete
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Tour Starts Promptly at 2:30 pm2900 N, FM973Austin, TX 78725
About the Tour
Big City Crushed Concrete provides the construction industry significant economic and environmental benefits by recycling clean, concrete rubble into TXDOT Grade rock materials. By using crushed concrete products, anyone from homeowners to landscapers to general contractors can help reduce land-filled concrete waste, conserve natural resources, and gain significant economic savings on materials and disposal costs. Big City Crushed Concrete also helps projects reach the recycled material goals required by LEED.
During this event, we will tour the concrete rubble hill, the crushing equipment, and the properties as we expand to receive more concrete and asphalt rubble.
Josh Hylkema will be leading the tour. A co-owner, Josh has been with Big City 23 years and is the resident expert on material, QC, and all things “recycling” as it relates to concrete and asphalt.
Space on this tour is limited; register today!
Rethinking Building Green at Eathx2025 Hilton Anatole, Dallas, TX
Tuesday, April 22 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Limited Discount Registration Using Code: RETHINK
For more than 30 years developers, designers, and builders have been refining and reimagining our built environments with regard to efficiency, materials, technology, and performance. Some strategies are born out of code changes, while others are conceived as a means to lower operating costs, lower risk, and increase an asset’s long-term real value.
Our sessions will explore where the real estate industry is today – how performance and value are assessed – as well as explore where it is going – diving into current trends, technologies, and strategies.
Conference Agenda
8:00 am Networking Coffee 9:00 am Keynote: Rethinking Building Green 10:00 am EarthX All-Conference Break 10:20 am Project Showcase: iREALeyes 10:35 am Panel: Seeing Value Over Cost 12:00 pm EarthX All Conference Lunch & Keynote 1:30 pm Innovation Showcase including Harnyss, Powerstack, and more 2:30 pm Project Spotlight: 3:00 pm EarthX All-Conference Break 3:15 pm Rethinking Building Green Workshop 4:20 pm Sustainable Mindset for the Future (and Past) of Green Building - a conversation with Chris Pyke 5:00- 6:00 pm Conference Reception
Thursday, May 1st at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, June 5th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, July 3rd at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, August 7th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, September 4th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, October 2nd at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, November 6th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Thursday, December 4th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
USGBC Texas Chapter is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 1801 Royal Lane, Suite 400, Dallas, TX 75229
Contact us at chapter@usgbctexas.org or at 214-571-9244
