Tommy Linstroth is the founder and CEO of Green Badger, a SaaS company providing easy-to-use, collaborative cloud-based solutions to streamline and automate sustainability in the green building construction market. Tommy is a leader and pioneer in the ESG space, and in this week’s episode, we explore ESG in the green construction market.
Green Construction Within ESG
I ask Tommy how green construction fits into an overall ESG conversation. Tommy acknowledges that ESG is See more +
Tommy Linstroth is the founder and CEO of Green Badger, a SaaS company providing easy-to-use, collaborative cloud-based solutions to streamline and automate sustainability in the green building construction market. Tommy is a leader and pioneer in the ESG space, and in this week’s episode, we explore ESG in the green construction market.
Green Construction Within ESG
I ask Tommy how green construction fits into an overall ESG conversation. Tommy acknowledges that ESG is becoming more popular at the organizational, corporate, and portfolio levels. Green building is part and parcel of the general ESG framework; companies are increasingly considering sustainability in construction instead of only when the building is complete. I comment that this idea could expand from just a building to a community or gated subdivision. Tommy agrees and explains that if a developer looks at multi-family developments, they should look at the collective impact on the environment and the social and governmental aspects.
The Origins of Green Badger
Green Badger was founded to solve the challenges Tommy faced managing green construction as a consultant. He would have to manage and track data from multiple projects in different construction phases. This was time-consuming, and he figured there had to be a way to automate the process to make it easier. With the extra time, they could make building projects greener and finish them on time and within budget. Thus, the idea for Green Badger was born.
Green Certification
I ask Tommy to explain what green certification is. The primary or gold standard for buildings is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a third-party certification that the United States Green Building Control administers. It is used to verify the sustainability aspects of a building. About 95% of companies require it on their facilities moving forward, and it is used on almost everything publicly funded.
ESG Metrics
I ask Tommy about common ESG metrics in the construction phase. Tommy says that the most common metric is energy consumption, for example, fuel used on-site for equipment. It would be best to consider all the direct and indirect emissions, such as the carbon emissions produced while traveling to and from the job site. Measuring construction waste and water consumption is also a standard ESG metric. These metrics tend to focus more on the environmental and social aspects of ESG rather than the governance side, and he points out.
Looking Ahead
Tommy believes there will be increased ESG requirements in new residential or commercial construction in 2025. He compares it to a running faucet: “Right now, we see the faucets, and it’s just a trickle. Those financial owner-driven regulations are slowly lifting that lever where the drop will turn into a trickle, and then it will turn into a blast.” In the 80s and 90s, safety regulations were not that prevalent, but these days they are ingrained into the culture of every work site. “ESG will become baked in as a standard operating procedure.” See less -
