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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.
5:00 pm-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
USGBC South Texas LEED/SITES Bike Tour on Broadway!
Saturday, March 22, 2025 10 am - 12 pm
Event Details:
USGBC South Texas and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) will lead a tour of Nature-based Infrastructure along Broadway Street, as part of San Antonio's Sicolvia event, when the street is closed to vehicles! The tour will start downtown near the BCycle Station on 401 E. Houston, where participants will pick up their BCycle (pedal assist bike) rentals, and travel north on Broadway to Mahncke Park and back.
The tour will showcase Nature-based Solutions as examples of SITES and LEED credits, they include bioretention areas (rain gardens) at Lamar Elementary School, the Doseum and Maverick Park, cisterns (rain barrels) at Credit Human and CPS Headquarters, and streetside bioswales along Broadway.
The discussion will include how these Best Management Practices improve water quality in the San Antonio River and the health of the San Antonio community!
What is Síclovía?
"Síclovía is a free, annual event organized by the YMCA of Greater San Antonio that turns city streets into a safe place for exercise and play. The family-friendly event encourages residents and visitors to get out, get active, and explore their city through car-free streets. The Y accomplishes this by activating parks, bringing exposure to local businesses, and inviting community organizations. Participants can enjoy walking, biking, exercise classes, activities for youth, treats for their pets, food trucks, and more." Siclovia | YMCA of Greater San Antonio
GREEN COFFEE HOUR
Thursday, April 3rd 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.
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!
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.
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, April 12, 20259:00 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.
Earth Day ATX 2025
Saturday, April 12th, 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Huston-Tillotson University
900 Chicon Street, Austin, TX 78702
Earth Day ATX 2025 will be Saturday, April 12th, from noon to 6 pm at Huston-Tillotson University. Not only is this Earth Day's 55th Global Anniversary, but part of Huston-Tillotson University's 150th anniversary programming. Our theme this year will be "Rooted In Community" and feature a focus on history and community strength.
This will be the 7th year the festival is held at Huston-Tillotson University, a beautiful campus in East Austin between 7th and 11th Streets just off of I-35. Sustainability at HT includes academic programs, student activities, campus projects and community engagement. With its central location and interconnected indoor and outdoor spaces, HT is the perfect location for Earth Day Austin 2025.
To volunteer with the USGBC Central Texas chapter, register here, or explore earthdayaustin.com for more information on exhibiting and sponsorship.
Thanks so much for your interest and support!
USGBC South Texas Overview on the SA 2030 District
Tues., April 14, 202512 pm - 1 pm
Join San Antonio Presentation Virtually!
About the Topic:
Speakers:
Heather Gayle Holdridge, LEED Fellow, EIT, Assoc. AIA is the Sustainability Director at Lake|Flato Architects, a firm that has gained national recognition for architecture that successfully responds to its particular place while seamlessly integrating with the natural environment.
Leveraging her background in mechanical engineering, Heather directs all Lake|Flato project teams in establishing achievable sustainability goals. She devises strategies and establishes methods and systems to realize those goals under programs such as LEED, the 2030 Challenge, and the Living Building Challenge. Heather works closely with design teams to evaluate appropriate passive systems and performs energy modeling throughout the design process. Heather’s projects have included the Engineered BioSystems Building at Georgia Tech University; the Austin Central Library; Vanderbilt University’s Engineering and Medicine Building, and the LIVESTRONG Foundation facility. She received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Anna Morton Rivera, P.E. BEMP, is a seasoned sustainable engineering professional known for advancing green building initiatives and enhancing operational efficiency across diverse environments. As the Executive Director of Energy Management at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), she leads efforts to elevate campus sustainability and innovate green building practices. Previously, Anna excelled as a Building Performance Specialist at dbHMS and founded Morton Gestalt, where she pioneered projects in net-zero building design, electrification retrofits, and energy analytics applications. Bridging engineering, data analytics, and policy, she drives interdisciplinary collaboration to deliver cost-effective, sustainable solutions.
Jonathan Kraatz is the Executive Director for the U.S. Green Building Council Texas Chapter. In 2015, Kraatz was named Interim Executive Director over the formation of USGBC Texas, bringing together green building resources and knowledge from across the state. He facilitated the merger of the four Legacy U.S. Green Building Council Chapters in Texas and accepted the permanent role in January 2016.
Previously he served as Executive Director for the USGBC North Texas Chapter since 2010, he was hired as the Chapter’s media and communications strategist and was quickly promoted to more responsible positions within the organization.
He earned a LEED Green Associate credential and speaks regularly about the Chapter’s mission, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, and building sustainability. He was also named part of Who’s Who in Energy by the Dallas Business Journal in 2012, 2013, and again in 2014.
He was also elected to the Board of Directors for the Dallas Fort Worth Association Executives in 2013, 2015, 2017 and became President in 2019.
Kraatz was also part of the initial Dallas 2030 District Leadership Council and the Advisory Council for the City of Fort Worth Better Buildings Challenge - serving as its Co-Chair from 2017 to 2019 and the Steering Committee for the City of Dallas’ Comprehensive Climate Action Plan Working Group. He is currently on the Leadership Council for the San Antonio 2030 District relaunch.
In 2015 he was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award, a premier volunteer awards program encouraging citizens to lead a life of service from the President of the United States, for his efforts with the USGBC Chapter Network Evolution Working Groups.
He holds a degree in Journalism from Texas A&M University and credits being challenged early in his career by great mentors for the flexibility and adaptability that has shaped him as a leader.
USGBC South Texas Lunch & Learn on the SA 2030 District
Tues., April 14, 2025 12 pm - 1 pm
Overland Partners
203 E Jones Ave UNIT 104 San Antonio, TX 78215
If you cannot attend in person, please reach out to us.
Rethinking Building Green at Earthx2025 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.
Chris Pyke, Chief Innovation Officer for GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) will keynote the conference and 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
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, May10, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, June 5th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, June 14, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, July 3rd at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, July 12, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, August 7th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, August 9, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, September 4th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, Sept. 13, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, October 2nd at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, Oct. 11, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, November 6th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, Nov. 8, 20259:00 AM-11:00 AM
Thursday, December 4th at 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Adopt a Shoreline Saturday, Dec. 13, 20259:00 AM-11:00 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
