Getting to Zero Forum 2021

November 3, 2021

At the 2021 Getting to Zero Forum last week in New York City, HMFH Principal Julia Nugent and other industry experts led a panel discussion on effective approaches for setting early performance targets and understanding the full financial picture that makes net-zero energy buildings a worthy investment.

In a public school setting, community consensus is essential to the success of a project; with a broad group of stakeholders who often have adverse preconceived notions about the cost of net-zero and net-positive energy facilities, building the necessary support can be a significant challenge.

In the panel discussion, HMFH Principal Julia Nugent and fellow sustainable design advocates Kimberly Cullinane of Eversource, Denise Rouleau of National Grid and Meredith Elbaum of Built Environment Plus describe practical solutions for making net-zero and net-positive energy buildings achievable in a publicly funded setting. Sharing her experience as the Project Director for the new Fales Elementary School, which opens this month as the first net-positive energy public school in Massachusetts, Julia outlined strategies to navigate the financial, political, and technical challenges associated with cutting-edge, energy efficient design.

Learn more about the conference here.