Robert "Rob" Watson, is a market transformation expert, international leader in the

green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from plann ...

movement and CEO and chief scientist of The ECON Group. He founded the

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...

Green Building Rating System of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993 and was its founding chairman until 2006. After helping to pioneer the green building concept as the "Father of LEED", Watson founded the EcoTech International Group (ETI) to meet the fast-growing demand for green building technologies and services in China, Russia, India and the United States. Since 2008, Watson has also been the executive editor of GreenerBuildings.com where he blogs about the state of green building. His work on green buildings in China and green technology in general has been featured in numerous publications, including ''

Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

'' and ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econ ...

'' and has been referenced on multiple occasions by ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' columnist,

Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global tr ...

. In Thomas Friedman's 2008 book, ''

Hot, Flat, and Crowded ''Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America'' is a book by ''New York Times'' Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman, proposing that the solutions to global warming and the best method to regain the ...

'', Watson is described as "one of the best environmental minds in America." Watson was the only foreigner to have been honored by

Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the People's Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in Mainland China. It was formerly known as the Ministry of Construction ...

with its first ''Green Innovation Award'' in Beijing in 2005. In 2002, he was named as the first recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council's ''Leadership Award For Lifetime Achievement'' for his work with the organization.

Life and work

As a senior scientist and director of the International Energy and Green Building programs at the

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, B ...

(NRDC) from 1985 to 2006, Watson was active in international sustainable building, utility and transportation issues in a dozen countries including China, the United States and Russia. Since 1997, Watson has worked with the

Ministry of Construction of China The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the People's Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in Mainland China. It was formerly known as the Ministry of Construction ...

to develop green building standards and energy codes for commercial and residential buildings. He also was the principal coordinator for ACCORD21, a key green building demonstration project in Beijing for the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (MOST) and the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

(DOE). This building was the first to receive LEED Certification in China at the Gold Level. Watson created the first documented, quantifiable “Green Office” in the U.S. for the Natural Resources Defense Council's NYC headquarters in 1987. Watson took primary responsibility for developing the green features of NRDC's showcase green offices in Washington, D.C., and the LEED Platinum Level Robert Redford Building in Los Angeles — one of the highest recipients of LEED points in the world. He also consulted on the San Francisco office, which achieved LEED Gold Level Certification. Watson was a member of the executive committee for the President's Council on Sustainable Development 1999 National Town Meeting and was the Operations Group Leader for the 1993 Greening of the White House initiative spearheaded by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

Education

Watson received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(MBA) from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, holds a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

(MS) degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Energy Resources Group (ERG) and is a graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a Private university, private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded t ...

where he was a senior fellow. In 1993, Watson was the first Environmental Fellow at the Institute of Transportation Studies at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institu ...

Life and work

Education

See also

References

External links