Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Listen to the full episode here:
gbes.com/green-building-matters-podcast
Becca Rushin has been Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Jamestown since 2016. Her involvement in sustainability began with being outside a lot as she was growing up, taking a ‘Walking the Land’ class in college, and getting hooked with environmental literature. She is now as active in the campaign for green building as ever.
“Look, I have never heard of this sustainability thing before but it makes a lot of sense… why would we not do things this way?” - Becca Rushin on her life-altering breakthrough
Sustainability: The Epiphany Becca grew up in the coast of Georgia, developing her love for travel and the outside world. In college, she took up a class that introduced her to ecology and the environment through a lot of classic reading. It wasn’t until after college that she got hold of Cradle-to-Cradle, which brought to the surface the part of her that leaned towards sustainability.
With her undergraduate degree in environmental studies, she went on to study in Netherlands to get her MSc in Sustainable Development from Utrecht. Her degree has not only equipped her with the necessary credentials to land jobs befitting her education. She has also put it to use by testifying in defense of environmental policies, the ultimate culmination of her learnings.
A Work Smarter, Not Harder Approach Becca thinks that sustainability is a lot simpler than most people would like to think. It’s a “work smarter” rather than a “work harder” kind of approach in making our way of life better for the sake of the environment. In fact, no one is exempt from adopting a sustainable manner of living.
“I’ve never seen sustainability as kind of mutually exclusive with a kind of busy, happy, fulfilled life, like the one I grew up living.” - Becca Rushin
Sustainability can be injected into everything we do. Through lighting, energy, and water conservation, we can all act with added environmental benefits. Like she said, it is silly to not go with such an easy upgrade.
The Impactful Duos Becca’s career was defined by tandems. During her startup days, a pair of mentors with unique skill sets guided her growth by providing a leash long enough to cut her teeth on everything she needs to learn.
Presently, Becca wears two hats, that of sustainability and of corporate social responsibility. It is her belief that both are actually important in achieving a company’s shared goals by involving charity and humanity in the process.
To hear more about Becca’s story of sustainability and social responsibility, download and listen to the episode!
Learn more about Becca Rushin:
LinkedIn Jamestown Profile USGBC Profile Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:
Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast !
Listen to the full episode here:
gbes.com/green-building-matters-podcast
Becca Rushin has been Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Jamestown since 2016. Her involvement in sustainability began with being outside a lot as she was growing up, taking a ‘Walking the Land’ class in college, and getting hooked with environmental literature. She is now as active in the campaign for green building as ever.
“Look, I have never heard of this sustainability thing before but it makes a lot of sense… why would we not do things this way?” - Becca Rushin on her life-altering breakthrough
Sustainability: The Epiphany Becca grew up in the coast of Georgia, developing her love for travel and the outside world. In college, she took up a class that introduced her to ecology and the environment through a lot of classic reading. It wasn’t until after college that she got hold of Cradle-to-Cradle, which brought to the surface the part of her that leaned towards sustainability.
With her undergraduate degree in environmental studies, she went on to study in Netherlands to get her MSc in Sustainable Development from Utrecht. Her degree has not only equipped her with the necessary credentials to land jobs befitting her education. She has also put it to use by testifying in defense of environmental policies, the ultimate culmination of her learnings.
A Work Smarter, Not Harder Approach Becca thinks that sustainability is a lot simpler than most people would like to think. It’s a “work smarter” rather than a “work harder” kind of approach in making our way of life better for the sake of the environment. In fact, no one is exempt from adopting a sustainable manner of living.
“I’ve never seen sustainability as kind of mutually exclusive with a kind of busy, happy, fulfilled life, like the one I grew up living.” - Becca Rushin
Sustainability can be injected into everything we do. Through lighting, energy, and water conservation, we can all act with added environmental benefits. Like she said, it is silly to not go with such an easy upgrade.
The Impactful Duos Becca’s career was defined by tandems. During her startup days, a pair of mentors with unique skill sets guided her growth by providing a leash long enough to cut her teeth on everything she needs to learn.
Presently, Becca wears two hats, that of sustainability and of corporate social responsibility. It is her belief that both are actually important in achieving a company’s shared goals by involving charity and humanity in the process.
To hear more about Becca’s story of sustainability and social responsibility, download and listen to the episode!
Learn more about Becca Rushin:
LinkedIn Jamestown Profile USGBC Profile Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:
Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast !









![Green Building Strategy and Communications with Brian Bollinger
Green Building Strategy and Communications with Brian Bollinger
Brian Bollinger, MBA, CEM, WELL AP, LEED Green Associate
With over 15 years of visionary leadership, Brian Bollinger is an operational executive known for strategic management and fostering innovative partnerships. As the Head of Communications for Green Building Holdings (GBH), Brian serves as the Executive Spokesperson for four GBH business units: Blue Ocean, SIG, GBES, and Aetos.
Brians commitment to advancing GBHs mission aligns with his dedication to creating a healthier and greener world, providing cutting-edge education and tools for success in the building industry. Notably, Brian oversaw staff extensions for Bridge CRE, expanding their Energy, Sustainability, and Engineering services. His leadership played a pivotal role in achieving LEED Gold certification for the Walter E Washington Convention Center, including waste stream consulting.
He loves driving customer experience innovation, equity and sustainability projects, as well as communications and strategy improvements. But most of all, bringing wildly creative solutions to solve difficult problems. Brians multifaceted expertise extends beyond vision to practical implementation, solving complex problems and energizing stakeholders toward shared goals.
Show Highlights
Brian shares tips on how to communicate sustainability effectively.
Brian talks about his work with Sustainable Investment Group, GBES, Aetos Imaging, and Blue Ocean (which has launched Skema.AI).
Explore the importance of waste management and recycling in commercial buildings.
Exciting industry advancements in generative AI and its potential impact on both design and sustainability.
Understanding the importance of resourcefulness and creativity in green building
Find unexpected applications for expertise in green buildings and sustainability to drive progress towards a more circular economy.
The evolving landscape of green building, influences, and the need to share best practices.
The power of gratitude and finding creative ways to thank clients.
“Im really enjoying…seeing a complete Step function changes in [how tech enables]…operating buildings. I always joke that theres not a building engineer or facility operator out there who went into their line of work because they just love spreadsheets. At the end of the day, its because they love this breathing machine that they get to live inside of and work in.”
-Brian Bollinger
“One of the biggest plays in the worlds sustainability over the next ten years is going to be what happens to waste. We dont get to circularity without solving waste. Its just at the end of the day, as we used to say in community development, ‘God has required and the poor deserve better than amateurs with their hearts in the right place.’ And I think its the same with waste. The planet we all share deserves better than a complete absence of circularity, when its completely possible, and its becoming more possible every day.”
-Brian Bollinger
“The biggest [recycling] tip I would [give] to commercial buildings in general: really clear signage. At the end of the day, when we find something thats way off [in waste audits], you can usually trace it back to a floor that isnt clearly communicating what belongs where. And how to dispose of it.”
-Brian Bollinger
“Like with the internet in 1992…[with Artificial Intelligence] the reality is that, when it comes to sustainability…I think every single week we’re discovering a new reality of what its going to do, what this technological shift is going to enable. Whats exciting about it is that we dont even know what we don’t know, and with every passing week some of its terrifying, yes, but most of its absolutely electrifying. And just seeing the potential that is going to continue to bring and [telling clients], “Hey, were going to be here.’ Were going to be digging through whats good, whats bad, and were going to keep leveraging it to drive forward the success of everybody who we get a chance to serve.”
-Brian Bollinger
Get the episode transcript here!
Show Resource and Information
Healthy Buildings
VR Fitness Workouts on Meta Quest | VR Boxing, VR Stretching
Supernatural VR Fitness - Amazon® Official Site
LinkedIn
Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam,... Green Building Strategy and Communications with Brian Bollinger](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mpvfq4fdnj4/mqdefault.jpg)
