The EBies: “Oscars” for Existing Building Heroes

Authors

  • Jonah “Cecil” Scheib PE, CEM, LEED AP Urban Green Council (USGBC-NY), New York, NY

Abstract

Existing buildings consume 40% of the energy and 12% of the po-
table water used in the United States. As a result, emissions reduction
plans and energy use cuts must include a strong component focused on
existing buildings if they are to be successful. However, most media and
award attention is given to new buildings. The EBies (from “existing
buildings”) are national, annual awards given in multiple categories for
sustainability improvements to existing buildings. As the “Oscars” for
existing buildings, they honor the unsung heroes of energy and water
efficiency. Focusing well-deserved attention on the people working in
this area is a fundamental part of the culture change needed to bring
about lasting improvement in energy and water efficiency and green-
house gas emissions reductions.

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Author Biography

Jonah “Cecil” Scheib, PE, CEM, LEED AP Urban Green Council (USGBC-NY), New York, NY

Cecil Scheib, PE, CEM, LEED AP, is Advocacy Director at Urban Green Council, the New York chapter of the USGBC. He also works with the New York City Mayor’s Office as a Green Codes Fellow. With over twenty years of sustainability experience, he was previously Director of Energy and Sustainability at New York University, cutting energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in five years. Prior to NYU, he founded Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, an off-grid community dedicated to innovating sustainable technology and social systems. He teaches Green Building Professional (GPRO) Operations and Maintenance, and holds a BS in civil engineering from Stanford University. He can be reached at cs@urbangreencouncil.org.

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Urban Green Council, “The EBie Awards,” http://ebies.org

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Published

2023-07-11

How to Cite

Scheib, J. “Cecil” . (2023). The EBies: “Oscars” for Existing Building Heroes . Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, 32(4), 7–13. Retrieved from https://journals.riverpublishers.com/index.php/SPEE/article/view/19763

Issue

2013: Vol 32 Iss 4 2012-2013

Section

Articles