Matt Genaze
Username
Matt Genaze
Proposer First Name
Matt
Proposer Email
matthewg@zeroenergy.com
Proposer Last Name
Genaze
Boston 2021 Areas of Focus
Proposer Company/Organization
ZeroEnergy Design
Proposer Job Title
Architect
Proposed Session Description
The climate crisis clock is ticking loudly. We need all of our projects to take dramatic steps to reduce their embodied and operational carbon footprints. How do we convince ALL clients to factor in the climate crisis and take a potentially more challenging path especially when it may involve added time, added cost, added risk, and or some degree of undesirable compromise (reducing the square footage, eliminating a gas range, etc)? We are also now living in a world where certain people do not believe in established facts, and or have emotional beliefs that make it challenging to accept contrary information, let alone act on that new information.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
There may be diversity based on who the selected presenters are. Primarily the diversity would be in the form of non-industry presenters being heard.
Learning Objectives
Attendees will learn the latest direct (not subversive) communication methods for convincing clients of the importance of high performance assemblies, details and systems, and establish a pattern of climate conscious decisions.
Attendees will learn how to bridge information gaps, and in some cases, reverse pre-existing false beliefs, i.e. climate change is not a hoax and solving it IS fiscally prudent.
Attendees will learn why it is important to not Compromise on the high performance details, assemblies and systems, but rather to establish Consensus among team members for the critical necessity to achieve high performance targets as means to benefit not only all team members, but the community at large.
Attendees will hear case studies of common scenarios they can use as templates for situations they are likely to face with clients and builders; i.e. the client that doesn't see the value in high performance at the beginning of a project, the client that wants to cut out the high performance components to make the budget work, or the builder that needs extra convincing as means to take the critical details seriously.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 1 - No prior knowledge needed.
Session Format Details
Each presenter (a mediator, a debate coach, a respected self-help persuasion coach, a psychologist, etc.) provides a 10-15 minute presentation followed by a 20 minute Q&A. The Q&A is a very important component that should not be cut short in order to allow the audience to inquire about issues that are directly applicable to their current work.
Recommended Length
60-minute session
90-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2021
Comments about your speaker roster
1 or more presenters; a mediator, a debate coach, a respected self-help persuasion coach, a psychologist, etc. I think it would be good to use non-industry professionals if possible as long as they can adapt their presentation content for the industry. This may require the moderator working with the presenters in advance to tweak and narrow their broader knowledge.
Reviewer 1
Evans, Bryan
Proposal #
141
Committee Decision
Rejected
Full Description
I continually hear from colleagues that their clients are either not interested in high performance, or are unwilling to spend the extra time and or money. Or rather, when a budget reduction is needed, it is the energy and carbon performance of the building that gets the first cut. A prominent NESEA presenter has previously suggested to just not use the phrase "high performance" or "Passive House" and just slip in the air tightness requirements into the drawings and specs as a means to pass off such requirements as typical or par for the course. While potentially successful, most clients and contractors are more savvy. Our industry needs to have the skills to win the argument in a direct manner, both up front and during a project. We cannot afford to let a single building get built or renovated to less than high-performance standards.