Lippe of e4, inc. is a green building pioneer helping developers and owners achieve LEED certification

Pamela Lippe began working on the greening of New York City skyscrapers around the time that the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system was being developed. Her first project was the Durst Organization's Condé Nast building developed in the mid-1990s. As the first environmentally responsible skyscraper in the United States, the building was designed when LEED was in its infancy. "Working on that project was very exciting and challenging," Lippe said. "We just had to figure it out for ourselves." Lippe's company, e4, inc., a registered Woman's Business Enterprise (WBE) now regularly helps developers and owners achieve certification under the LEED rating system for new construction and existing buildings. Established by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED consists of a checklist of performance benchmarks that provides significant flexibility to pick and chose what makes most sense for a project. "Our role is to simplify the process and keep it focused," Lippe said, "but we really need leadership from within to succeed. Otherwise, too much time is wasted arguing over whether something should be done, rather than how it can be done." Lippe's firm, e4, inc., consults on a wide variety of building and green commercial interior projects ranging from office spaces to theaters to museums. Some of the high-visibility projects include the 54-story Bank of America tower developed by the Durst Organization and the Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards being developed by Forest City Ratner. Smaller projects include several at the Brooklyn Navy Yards, the Bowery Hotel, the WNYC relocation project and the Museum of African Art. In the last few years, Lippe's focus has expanded to include existing building projects such as TIAA-CREF's headquarters in New York City and Charlotte, NC and a study for the City of New York evaluating the use of LEED for existing buildings - operations and maintenance for the city portfolio. "In the short-term, greening existing building stock is where the action will be," Lippe said. A typical project team has varying levels of experience in green building design and operations. e4 has created a niche for itself by crafting its services to meet the needs of each client. "We're utility players," Lippe said. "We track and manage green implementation from beginning to end. It's a constantly changing and time consuming process ... which is why people hire us. Word-of-mouth, not advertising keeps bringing us new projects." Lippe's firm helps flatten the LEED learning curve for owners, building managers, architects, and engineers, handling the bulk of the paperwork and engaging with the U.S. Green Building Council. Lippe and her staff are typically responsible for tracking progress, providing templates, reviewing work products and generally supporting the project team through design and construction and even into operations. e4 also helps owners secure government subsidies that help cover some of the added costs of going green. A long-time environmentalist, Lippe has served for over 19 years (14 pro-bono) as the executive director of Earth Day New York, a non-profit environmental education organization that she helped to found in 1990. Earth Day New York publishes Lessons Learned publications based largely on what Lippe has learned and thinks is important for the real estate community to understand. "The information is designed to be succinct, accessible and useful," Lippe said. In addition, the organization hosts a yearly Earth Day celebration that brings thousands of visitors to Grand Central Terminal to see green products and exhibits, hear live bands, sample organic foods and learn how the average person can help the environment. This year's events are scheduled for April 24-25. For more information, go to: www.earthdayny.org.