Clean Air Awards Luncheon 2013

A leading professional at the forefront of the green building movement, Anthony Bernheim, FAIA, LEED Fellow, has pioneered integrated sustainable building practices for over 29 years, as an architect addressing a wide range of building types and master plans. He currently provides sustainability consulting services as Principal, Sustainable Built Environments. Previously he was the Director of Sustainability, AECOM Architecture, where he collaborated on the development of the AECOM ecoSystem, a dashboard toolkit used to guide integrated building practices from project inception through post occupancy of high-performance buildings that are energy efficient, provide comfortable, safe, and healthy environments, utilize resource-efficient products, have reduced environmental footprints, and strive to be “living” and “regenerative” buildings.

Anthony’s career has transformed projects and led to healthier environments. He has developed a special expertise in design for healthy indoor air quality. In the 1990s, he was the architect's project manager and the sustainable building practices leader for the new San Francisco Main Library, one of the first major public projects in the U.S. to have the indoor materials tested for chemical emissions. For the State of California Capitol Area East End Complex office building he collaborated as an architect with other indoor air quality professionals on the development of project specifications, for testing building products for chemical emissions and that related indoor air chemical concentrations to building occupant health. This work has led to improved building product emissions, the way third-party certifiers evaluate products, and has provided the basis for the indoor air quality requirements of the new California and national green building codes and standards. Anthony recently wrote chapters “Clean Air: Good Health” and “Ambient Outdoor Air Quality,” for Wiley Publications books Sustainable Healthcare Architecture and Sustainable and Resilient Communities respectively.

As an extension of his interest in sustainable building products, Anthony participates as a technical expert advising on green products for the Regenerative Network, a special initiative established to promote green technology products for the building community. He also collaborates with other organizations, including the Health Product Declaration Collaborative and the NSF/UL 440 Health-Based Product Emissions Standards committee to develop standards for sustainable building products.

Anthony Bernheim is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Board of Directors, is the co-chair of the Green Buildings and Human Health Working Group, and a past Treasurer and co-chair of the USGBC Classroom to Boardroom Diversity Mentoring Initiative. He was honored with the AIA California Council's 2004 Nathaniel A. Owings Award “in recognition of a lifetime of service, commitment, and advocacy for the principles of sustainable design and preserving the earth’s natural resources,” the 2009 USGBC Northern California Chapter David Gottfried Special Achievement Award for being “an individual whose career and contributions to the industry demonstrate exceptional passion, leadership, and commitment to green building, USGBC, and the Northern California Chapter,” and the 2012 Breathe California Clean Air Award in recognition for his work on green buildings.