On June 14th, 2018,  Green Building United hosted the Lehigh Valley Awards, celebrating transformative leadership in the green building community and industry in Lehigh Valley (which comprises Lehigh and Northampton Counties).

We heard from Megan Leinart, the President of Leinart Consulting, a company specializing in marketing strategy planning and execution, program marketing and branding, and sustainability consulting for the parking and commercial real estate industries. Megan discussed ParkSmart, “the world’s only certification system designed to advance sustainable mobility through smarter parking structure design and operation.

Thank you to our speaker, our attendees, and our sponsors who made the event possible.

2018 lv awards individual awardee
Nick pictured in middle, after receiving award.
2018 lv awards project winner
Project team pictured with Green Building United Executive Director Alex Dews, after receiving award.

Individual Awardee – Nick DeSalvo

Nick is the Director of Sustainability Initiatives for the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC), collaborating with departments, committees, faculty, and students to infuse sustainability into the six colleges and universities within the LVIAC, and to identify shared energy and environmental goals. As a shared resource, Nick also serves as the Energy Manager at Lafayette College, tracking, monitoring, and reporting energy usage, to identify opportunities to increase efficiency, and to conserve resources, and to advance sustainability of operations.  Nick has also been serving as the Board Treasurer of the Lehigh Valley Sustainability Network since 2015, and has more than 25 years of experience providing environmental consulting services.

Project Awardee – Easton City Hall

The City of Easton decided to use an existing site that is at the entrance gateway to Easton to transform it to a focal point. It was the city’s decision to show its stewardship in sustainability, and the building achieved LEED certification in May 2018. Some credits to mention include connectivity to the urban core and the adjacent services, heat-island effect for the roof and non-roof surfaces, water efficient landscaping, water use reduction by 30%, energy efficient systems, green power, use of recycled and regional materials, low-emitting materials, views to the outside. The city is proud of the certification and committed to implementing sustainable practices in the many projects in which they are involved.