Thomas Chase
Username
Tom Chase
Proposer First Name
Thomas
Proposer Email
chase@newecology.org
Proposer Last Name
Chase
Boston 2021 Areas of Focus
Proposer Company/Organization
New Ecology, Inc.
Proposer Phone
(617) 557-1700 x7061
Proposer Job Title
Senior Project Manager
Proposed Session Description
Awareness of exposure to climate hazards such as extreme heat, sea level rise/storm surge flooding, and increasing precipitation is growing as climate hazard risk mapping tools are improving and proliferating. At the same time, the line between climate change mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (preparing for impacts) is blurring. Building owners, developers, architects, and engineers are tasked with operating, developing, and designing buildings that meet energy and water efficiency goals for reducing emissions while preparing buildings to be climate safe for residents and users. For the past 5+ years, New Ecology has been integrating efficiency audits with resilience assessments, developing tools and processes to advance climate risk assessment, designing and completing risk and vulnerability assessments for large portfolios of buildings, and putting state-of-the-science climate hazard risk mapping tools to work on specific projects. The presentation will present tools and resources, best practices, and case study examples to highlight how new and existing buildings can maximize resilience and efficiency in capital planning, including the identification of co-benefits.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
This session topic directly addresses equity with a focus on climate adaptation for affordable multi-family housing in traditionally under-sourced and excluded environmental justice communities, but with broad applicability to multifamily housing resilience in general.
Learning Objectives
Attendees will learn how to identify climate hazard risk mapping resources for a given site
Attendees will be able to recognize resilience best practice opportunities for their projects
Building owners and operators will learn how to ask the right questions about climate preparedness of existing buildings and climate exposure of new developments or acquisitions
Designers will learn to identify one or more co-benefits between utility efficiency and climate resilience
Has this session been presented before?
No
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 1 - No prior knowledge needed.
Session Format Details
One 40-minute presentation followed by Q&A
Recommended Length
60-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2021
Comments about your speaker roster
Tom Chase began his career in affordable housing sustainability in the New England and Washington D.C. headquarters U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offices focused on energy efficiency and sustainability. He led work at HUD on climate change preparedness planning, disaster recovery, and rebuilding programs during and after Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and winter storm Nemo. He has led tool and process development for local, state, and federal resilience assessment, design, and planning projects for multiple non-profit, foundation, for-profit, and government clients while at New Ecology, and he has been an invited speaker on this topic at multiple venues and conferences nationwide.
Reviewer 1
Horowitz, Stephanie
Reviewer 2
Horowitz, Stephanie
Proposal #
160
Committee Decision
Being Considered
Presenters
Full Description
This session is directly focused on "getting to why" - why climate adaptation must be part of design, construction, and operation of the built environment and why climate adaptation and mitigation are not in opposition, but rather are in synergy.