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President Donald Trump is getting rid of members of the federal agency that would have reviewed his planned building projects as he works to physically remake Washington, D.C. Trump fired all members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) on October 28. The commission, a federal agency established by Congress, has shaped the look of the nation’s capital for more than a century, from its museums and monuments to office buildings and parks, and now Trump is set to stack it with loyalists. The CFA was expected to review Trump’s planned White House ballroom and arch monument, but the White House told The Washington Post, which first reported the firings, that the administration is “preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trumps America First policies.” As Trump looks to remodel the White House campus with a massive ballroom where the East Wing once stood and build his own monument in Washington, D.C., amid a wider attempt at expanding presidential power and an ongoing government shutdown, he’s taking over the nation’s capitol’s commission on arts and architecture. Here’s what the commission is and how Trump’s firings fit into a broader strategy to remake D.C. in his vision. What is the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, or CFA? Congress established the CFA in 1910 to “advise the federal government on matters pertaining to the arts and national symbols, and to guide the architectural development of Washington, D.C.,” according to the commission. The scope of its work began first as advising on statues, fountains, and monuments, but it grew by executive orders in 1910, 1921, and 1950, respectively, to include the review of public buildings and park designs in D.C., and the “Old Georgetown” area of Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood. As part of its responsibilities, the independent agency reviews federal construction projects, like the White House tennis pavilion constructed during Trump’s first term in 2019. It was also expected to review Trump’s planned triumphal arch and White House ballroom. The National Capital Planning Commission ultimately approves projects. It is now also run by Trump appointees. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts typically consists of seven members appointed by the president. Members serve four-year terms on the commission without compensation. Who was on the CFA board? The CFA’s most recent members had backgrounds in architecture. It’s members were: Bruce Becker, president of the sustainable architecture and development firm Becker + Becker, who was appointed in 2024 Peter Cook, design principal at HGA Architects & Engineers, who was appointed in 2021 Lisa Delplace, director of the landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden, who was appointed in 2022 Hazel Ruth Edwards, a Howard University architecture professor, who was appointed in 2021. Bill Lenihan, principal and partner of the planning and design services firm Tevebaugh Architecture, who was appointed in 2024 Justin Garrett Moore, program officer for the Humanities in Place program at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, who was appointed in 2021 Former CFA chair Billie Tsien, whose firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects designed the Obama Presidential Center, was appointed in 2021 but resigned from the commission earlier this year. Former members of the CFA contacted by Fast Company did not respond to a request for comment. What do the CFA firings indicate about presidential power? Trump’s firing of the entire board represents an expansion of executive actions first taken by then-President Joe Biden when he replaced four members in 2021. The White House at the time said the change was made to bring “a diversity of background and experience, as well as a range of aesthetic viewpoints” to the commission. At the time, Luebke, the CFA secretary since the George W. Bush administration, told the Post he couldn’t recall a time a member of the CFA was replaced before their term ended unless they resigned. For Trump, the firings represent just the latest attempt to clear guardrails. The move mirrors his administration’s past actions to similarly takeover other cultural institutions, like the Kennedy Center, which elected Trump its chair in February after Trump named an entirely new board, and the Smithsonian, which is facing a review. It also runs parallel to Trump’s other moves to expand presidential power, including the imposition of tariffs, deployment of troops to U.S. cities, and the bombing targets without congressional approval. How does this fit in with Trumps plans to redesign D.C. architecture? The removal of the CFA board ultimately makes it that much easier for Trump to execute on his plans to redesign Washington, and the firings fit into a larger aesthetic argument by the Trump administration. Trump signed an executive order in August making classical architecture the preferred and default architecture in Washington, D.C. It’s a style whose proponents include McCrery Architects, the architectural firm behind his planned White House ballroom, and Justin Shubow, one of the Trump-appointed CFA members who Biden replaced. Considering the board’s advisory role on on matters of design and aesthetics,” according to its website, the firing of CFA members allows Trump to pack it with like-minded members who share his architectural point of view. In addition to the ballroom, Trump has plans to remake the nation’s capital’s monuments. A statue of a Confederate general that was destroyed in 2020 was reinstated this week in Washington’s Judiciary Square. Trump has also announced plans for the arch near Memorial Bridge. New CFA membership could reduce any remaining friction that would otherwise make Trump’s plans more difficult to execute. How have Trump’s building projects been received so far? Trump’s building projects are off to a rough start, though, even facing criticism from the right. Former Ronald Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan called photos of the East Wing demolition a metaphor, writing that “all this was done without public demand or support, and was done in a way that was abrupt, complete, unstoppable.” And a YouGov poll of U.S. adults found out 53% oppose his demolition of the East Wing, compared to 24% who approve and 24% who aren’t sure; 28% of Republicans also said they oppose the demolition. While the public isn’t yet sold on Trump’s D.C. renovations, his new commission will be. With only allies installed in the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, Trump has made any negative reviews from the agency tasked with advising him even less likely.
Category:
E-Commerce
Japanese psychology often likens attention to a flashlight. Wherever you shine this flashlight is where your focus and energy go. However, problems can arise when people shine this flashlight inwards for too long. They focus obsessively on their thoughts and emotions, and particularly those related to things outside of their control. Another common tendency that causes problems is shining the flashlight on other peoples behavior, the past, or the future. These are all inherently uncontrollable areas. Worrying about these factors can lead to a mental loop where it seems impossible to find solutions. When you start fixating on past events you cant change, it can lead to feelings of guilt, regret, and depression. Similarly, focusing excessively on the future and constantly trying to predict and prevent every possible negative outcome can lead to anxiety. A powerful example In a 2020 study by Lucas LaFreniere and Michelle Newman, the researchers asked participants with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) to track their worries over time through a journal. When they then looked back on those journal entries, they found that 91.4 per cent of their worries never came true. Whats even more striking is that 30 per cent of the worries that did come true turned out better than expected. The implications of this study are profound. We waste the vast majority of the mental energy we invest in worrying. Thats because the vast majority of the time, the outcomes we feared either dont happen or arent as bad as we anticipate. This research underscores the importancewhenever possibleof redirecting the flashlight of attention. You need to shift from uncontrollable, anxiety-inducing thoughts to more practical, solution-oriented thinking. Attention in the world of high performance I recently co-authored a research paper called Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study. The study focused on identifying the cognitive elements of performance in high-pressure situations, including the military, first responders, upper echelons of business, and competitive sport. The study included 68 experts from the military, elite sport, high-stakes business, and performance neuroscience. Our task was to identify the cognitive drivers under pressure and rate them in order of importance. Across those four high-performance fields, the experts unanimously ranked attentional control as the most critical trainable skill for thriving under pressure. More than processing speed, more than working memory, more than effort, they identified attentional control as the number one driver of performance under pressure. Thats because attention is the brains gatekeeper. It dictates what we notice, how we feel, and, ultimately, how we behave. If there are things hijacking your attention, whether that be notifications, headlines, or other distractions, you lose the ability to act with intention. Practical exercises for shifting the flashlight of attention Here are some quick tips to shift the flashlight of your attention: 1. Zones of control exercise On a piece of paper, draw two circles. In circle 1, write down everything you can control about a problem. In circle 2, list whats outside of your control. Focus your energy solely on circle 1, which is what you can control, and do your best to let go of circle 2. 2. Attentional flashlight practice Imagine your attention as a flashlight. Throughout the day, periodically pause and ask yourself: Where am I shining my flashlight? Is it focused on something productive and within my control, or is it caught in rumination or worry about uncontrollable events? 3. Social media detox Take a break from social media for a day or a week. Use this time to observe how much better you feel when youre not comparing yourself to others. Replace your social media time with activities that enrich your life, whether that be exercise, reading, or spending time with loved ones. 4. The news headlines challenge Set a timer for five minutes. Read todays news headlines on your preferred website (dont click through to articles). List each headline in two columns: zone 1, Can I directly influence this?, and zone 2, Outside my control. Notice how the zone 2 column is likely full while the zone 1 control column is nearly empty. This isnt about avoiding important issuesits about recognizing where you can spend your energy in a productive way. Focus on local actions you can take rather than global problems you have no way of solving. 5. Mindful breathing Spend five to ten minutes each day practising mindful breathing. This exercise helps redirect attention from racing thoughts and worries to the present moment. This grounds you in what you can control, which is your breath and your immediate surroundings. 6. Attentional audit exercise Grab a blank page and write out a list of categories for how you spend your time. Record every purposeful activity, social media, TV or streaming, ruminating or worrying in your own head, exercise/movement, meaningful connections, and hobbies or meaningful activities. Estimate how much time you spent on each category in the last 24 hours. Finally, sketch this as a heat map, using circles of red or orange for activities of high attention, and blue or green circles for low-attention activities. Make sure the size of the circles reflects the time spent. Are you happy with your heat map? If you have a partner and/or kids, this activity is worthwhile doing it together, and then using your heat maps as discussion prompts for what makes a meaningful life. Attentional deployment is about redirecting your focus away from the unhelpful and toward the helpful. Attention is your mental currency, so spend it wisely and dont waste it on worrying about things that are beyond your control. Japanese psychology often likens attention to a flashlight. Wherever you shine this flashlight is where your focus and energy go. However, problems can arise when people shine this flashlight inwards for too long. They focus obsessively on their thoughts and emotions, and particularly those related to things outside of their control. Another common tendency that causes problems is shiing the flashlight on other peoples behavior, the past, or the future. These are all inherently uncontrollable areas. Worrying about these factors can lead to a mental loop where it seems impossible to find solutions. When you start fixating on past events you cant change, it can lead to feelings of guilt, regret, and depression. Similarly, focusing excessively on the future and constantly trying to predict and prevent every possible negative outcome can lead to anxiety. A powerful example In a 2020 study by Lucas LaFreniere and Michelle Newman, the researchers asked participants with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) to track their worries over time through a journal. When they then looked back on those journal entries, they found that 91.4 per cent of their worries never came true. Whats even more striking is that 30 per cent of the worries that did come true turned out better than expected. The implications of this study are profound. We waste the vast majority of the mental energy we invest in worrying. Thats because the vast majority of the time, the outcomes we feared either dont happen or arent as bad as we anticipate. This research underscores the importancewhenever possibleof redirecting the flashlight of attention. You need to shift from uncontrollable, anxiety-inducing thoughts to more practical, solution-oriented thinking. Attention in the world of high performance I recently co-authored a research paper called Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study. The study focused on identifying the cognitive elements of performance in high-pressure situations, including the military, first responders, upper echelons of business, and competitive sport. The study included 68 experts from the military, elite sport, high-stakes business, and performance neuroscience. Our task was to identify the cognitive drivers under pressure and rate them in order of importance. Across those four high-performance fields, the experts unanimously ranked attentional control as the most critical trainable skill for thriving under pressure. More than processing speed, more than working memory, more than effort, they identified attentional control as the number one driver of performance under pressure. Thats because attention is the brains gatekeeper. It dictates what we notice, how we feel, and, ultimately, how we behave. If there are things hijacking your attention, whether that be notifications, headlines, or other distractions, you lose the ability to act with intention. Practical exercises for shifting the flashlight of attention Here are some quick tips to shift the flashlight of your attention: 1. Zones of control exercise On a piece of paper, draw two circles. In circle 1, write down everything you can control about a problem. In circle 2, list whats outside of your control. Focus your energy solely on circle 1, which is what you can control, and do your best to let go of circle 2. 2. Attentional flashlight practice Imagine your attention as a flashlight. Throughout the day, periodically pause and ask yourself: Where am I shining my flashlight? Is it focused on something productive and within my control, or is it caught in rumination or worry about uncontrollable events? 3. Social media detox Take a break from social media for a day or a week. Use this time to observe how much better you feel when youre not comparing yourself to others. Replace your social media time with activities that enrich your life, whether that be exercise, reading, or spending time with loved ones. 4. The news headlines challenge Set a timer for five minutes. Read todays news headlines on your preferred website (dont click through to articles). List each headline in two columns: zone 1, Can I directly influence this?, and zone 2, Outside my control. Notice how the zone 2 column is likely full while the zone 1 control column is nearly empty. This isnt about avoiding important issuesits about recognizing where you can spend your energy in a productive way. Focus on local actions you can take rather than global problems you have no way of solving. 5. Mindful breathing Spend five to ten minutes each day practising mindful breathing. This exercise helps redirect attention from racing thoughts and worries to the present moment. This grounds you in what you can control, which is your breath and your immediate surroundings. 6. Attentional audit exercise Grab a blank page and write out a list of categories for how you spend your time. Record every purposeful activity, social media, TV or streaming, ruminating or worrying in your own head, exercise/movement, meaningful connections, and hobbies or meaningful activities. Estimate how much time you spent on each category in the last 24 hours. Finally, sketch this as a heat map, using circles of red or orange for activities of high attention, and blue or green circles for low-attention activities. Make sure the size of the circles reflects the time spent. Are you happy with your heat map? If you have a partner and/or kids, this activity is worthwhile doing it together, and then using your heat maps as discussion prompts for what makes a meaningful life. Attentional deployment is about redirecting your focus away from the unhelpful and toward the helpful. Attention is your mental currency, so spend it wisely and dont waste it on worrying about things that are beyond your control. Excerpted from The Hardiness Effect: Grow From Stress, Optimise Health, Live Longer. Copyright 2025 by Dr Paul Taylor. Available from Wiley.
Category:
E-Commerce
In early 2023, Shopify made a bold and deliberate decision that rippled through its entire organization. Without warning anyone or conducting a phased rollout, they removed over 12,000 recurring meetings from employee calendars. They put a company-wide pause on all Wednesday meetings, and consolidated larger group sessions into a single window each week. From the outside, it looked like a scheduling adjustment. On the inside, it was an intentional reevaluation of how the company valued time, attention, and collaboration. Surprisingly, the decision resulted in very little chaos. Teams adapted and work moved. Space led to clarity surfacing. Shopify reported that the shift freed up more than 322,000 hours annually of time that employees previously spent in motion, but not always in progress. This two-week experiment was an act of leadership that asked, what are we doing simply because we always have? For many, that became a permanent way of working. Many organizations everywhere have practices and processes that persist by default. Meetings, reports, systems, and sign-offs become embedded not because they are essential, but because no one ever questioned them. But over time, demands on our attention continue to multiply. It becomes increasingly difficult to protect our time, and leadership needs to show its strength through discernment. They also need to let go of anything that no longer makes a meaningful contribution. Our bias towards addition Leadership, by its very nature, invites accumulation. Over time, it gathers layers: inherited systems, obligations that no longer serve a purpose. Often, theres the comforting illusion that being across everything means being in control. But this is a fragile place to be. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology explored this human tendency toward addition. When researchers asked participants to improve an object, design, or process, they almost always added something, even when taking something away would have created a better outcome. The study revealed the instinct to equate improvement with increasing something. The act of removing feels risky because it disrupts what we know. Ive watched this play out in countless organizations. Leaders respond to a growing workload by creating new layers of process, new forums for communication, and new metrics for accountability. They do so with the best intentions. However each layer eventually becomes another brick in the wall of complexity. And before you know it, employees are spending more time on the process than their actual work. The weight of more A few years ago, I began using the phrase red brick thinking to describe the moment a leader stops adding and starts questioning. It came from an exercise I often run in workshops using a small, uneven LEGO bridge. When I ask how to level it, most people instinctively reach for another brick. They start to build higher, wider, stronger. It takes only one person to realize that balance comes not from addition, but from removing the small red brick that caused the imbalance in the first place. That simple shift in perception can change the way a leader approaches everything. To lead with subtraction is to lead with discrimination, but in a good way. It means pausing before responding, questioning before committing, and creating space before filling it again. It invites the kind of simplicity and creativity thats difficult to find when your calendar is full and your attention is divided across too many demands. I worked with a senior executive who felt trapped by the very systems she had helped design. Her weeks were consumed by meetings, status reports, and requests for sign-off. When we examined her schedule, it became clear that she was operating inside a structure that no longer reflected her priorities. Together, we began removing the elements that had quietly accumulated: a report that no one read, a meeting that produced little value, and a responsibility that belonged elsewhere. Over time, her energy returned, her thinking sharpened, and her team grew more capable. It wasnt a dramatic shift, but it was decisive, And it all started with the willingness to ask one simple question, Does this still belong? Leading with subtraction Letting go is not about abandoning responsibility or lowering standards. Its a conscious act of leadership that requires courage, restraint, and trust. Doing this requires us to believe that we can create results by doing less. By releasing what no longer serves us, we create the capacity to serve better. In the language of red brick thinking, we build every organization from necessary structure and unnecessary weight. Over time, those red bricks turn from supportive to obstructive and slow everything down. And when leaders choose to remove them, they dont just reclaim efficiency, they reclaim perspective. They begin to see what truly matters, and they allow others to see it, too. When you lead by subtraction, its measured, deliberate, and deeply human. It recognizes that progress isnt always about movement. Sometimes, the most powerful thing a leader can do is stop, notice the weight theyre carrying, and decide that carrying less might just be the wisest way forward.
Category:
E-Commerce
Syracuse University is rolling out a new Center for the Creator Economy, looking to train the new class of influencers, streamers, podcasters and YouTubers. The center, the first of its kind in the U.S., is a joint project between the universitys communications and business schools, and aims to attract students planning to participate in the $250 billion creator economy. With rising unemployment rates, and a college degree no longer unlocking the career opportunities it once did, the creator economy could be a beacon of hope for young graduates in a dismal job market. The number of creators globally is expected to grow at a compound annual rate between 10 and 20%. The total addressable market, from influencer marketing spend to platform payouts, is expected to increase to a projected $500 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs. In a 2023 Morning Consult survey of 1,000 Gen Zers, more than half said they want to be influencers. Two in five U.S. teenagers already earning income through digital channels. Influencers with followings over a million can charge upwards of five figures for just one post. Higher education is now paying attention. From MrBeast and Alix Earle giving guest lectures to Harvard Business School students, to universities from Penn State to Duke introducing online courses, clubs, and summer camps dedicated to the business of content creation, colleges are embracing this once-dismissed career path. For now, Syracuse doesn’t plan on offering majors or minors in content creation. Instead, the center will include undergraduate and graduate classes in creative content, audience engagement, and digital strategy, according to the university, to help young entrepreneurs optimize their chosen platforms. The center will also host workshops and speaker series and on-campus incubators, and provide avenues for mentorship and funding for student ventures. Opening in spring 2026, the school is making an at least six-figure investment for equipment and design for the new space, according to reports, including a green screen, podcast booths, and a corner for gamers to livestream. Of course, the appeal of content creation is anyone can pick up a camera and start. At the same time, a growing number of Gen Zs are questioning the value of a degree to begin with. Yet, as the creator economy evolves, now with six-figure deals on the table, the algorithm to conquer and advertising laws and contracts to navigate, and a growing number of adjacent careers, a college degree might turn out to be a lucrative investment after all.
Category:
E-Commerce
Mike Zatz was not planning to leave the Environmental Protection Agency. For two decades, Zatz worked within the departments Energy Star program, managing the commercial building side of the public-private partnership focused on energy efficiency. “I loved the program. I loved what we were doing. I loved the success that we were having, he says. But in June, when the EPA offered a second round of early retirement (or deferred resignation), Zatz was one of more than 1,400 employees to step away. The offer came after President Trump and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency rolled out mass terminations and program cuts to shrink the federal workforce at large. It also came after Trump took aim at Energy Star specifically. In May, Trump announced his plans to shut the program down, part of a larger attack on energy efficiency measures since his return to office. No matter that the program was voluntary, that it saves Americans $40 billion on energy bills annually, that its notably cost-effective for a government program (for every one federal dollar invested, Energy Star delivers a return of $350), or that it has long had bipartisan support. Its in Trumps crosshairs. At Energy Star, Zatz was crucial to getting commercial buildings on board with Portfolio Manager, a free tool to track and benchmark building energy use, which helps owners and operators comply with local laws, get green financing loans for investing in efficiency measures, and earn environmental recognitions. Zatz even helped expand Portfolio Manager to Canada. Under him, the tool became the industry standard in North America: a trusted, free, essential resource. It’s not the only such tool though; there are a slate of private companies that track and benchmark building energy efficiency. And now, Zatz works for one. He recently started as the senior vice president of Global Data Ecosystems and Partnerships at Measurabl, a sustainability data platform that allows the real estate industry to measure, manage, and report on their emissions and energy performance. Zatz will use his experience building up Portfolio Manager to help grow Measurabl’s customer basethis time with a global approach. Though now in the private sector, Zatz says Measurabl has the “same vision” that the EPA had for Energy Star. It’s an example of how the private sector is filling gaps in government services following Trump DOGE-powered gutting of the federal workforce and programsand also shows how former government workers, forced out by recent administrative moves, have plenty of skills to offer such companies. Taking Energy Star’s mission global Our built environment plays a huge role in our carbon footprint; In the U.S. alone, residential and commercial buildings together account for 31% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The building sector uses 75% of the countrys generated electricity. Tracking energy use is the key to reducing these emissions, and can also save operators significant money on energy costs. By benchmarking their energy use and aligning with Energy Star standards, building operators can increase their profits, apply for efficiency rebates, and access certain loans. Apartment managers can use it to keep from passing increased utility costs to residents, and school districts can even free operating funds, making more resources available to teachers if less money is spent on energy costs. Other roles look at building energy use too, like brokers, loan underwriters, and policymakers. The potential end of Energy Star has shaken building owners and operators. Both building owners and sustainability experts have said that the private sector (or the act of privatizing Energy Star itself) cant completely replace the government programs offeringsspecifically Portfolio Manager, which is currently used to track and benchmark the energy use of more than 330,000 buildings. Measurabl is trying, though. And a crucial step toward offering a similar experience is having a free version. Even before the rumblings of Energy Star coming under Trump’s ax, Measurabl began working on its Free Sustainability Software Solution, which also collects and tracks energy use data, and even integrates with Portfolio Manager. The leadership at Measurable recognized that in order to build an ecosystem like this, you have to lower the barriers to entry. And the main barrier to entry, and to all the other tools that are out there that build on Portfolio Manager . . . like Measurabl, was that you had to pay, Zatz says. After launching that free software tool in July, Measurabl says new subscribers onboarded more than 12,000 buildings, representing 2.2 billion square feet across 40 countries. It was fastest software adoption Measurabl has seen in its 13 years in business. Along with the free version, Measurabl offers premium tools, charging for software upgrades that allow building owners to do scenario planning to decarbonize properties, automatically collect data from utilities, help prepare reports to HUD or loan providers, and generally conduct more granular analysis. Across all its offerings, it serves more than 1,000 organizations across 90-plus countries, representing more than $3 trillion in assets and 22 billion square feet of real estate under management. The company has raised a total of more than $235 million in funding since its founding. Measurabl and Energy Star actually overlap. Even when he worked at Energy Star, Zatz knew of the company, because multiple Energy Star partners are also Measurabl clients. Measurabl was named Energy Stars Partner of the Year six times. And Measurabls software uses and integrates with Portfolio Manager, allowing data to sync between the two. But to really expand, especially around the world, Measurabl needs to build up its partnerships and connect to all the players in the building industrynot just building owners (which includes Fortune 500 companies to schools to religious congregations) but builders, utilities, state and local governments, product manufacturers and retailers, sustainability consultants, architects and engineers, and so on. This is the kind of ecosystem Zatz created at Energy Star. Now at Measurabl, Zatz isn’t looking to completely replace Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager. In fact, he hopes it stays around, not just because hes spent nearly 20 years working on it. As far as Measurabl and the ecosystem were trying to put together, I think certainly it will be beneficial to us to have Portfolio Manager running as a tool,” he says. How government tools are constrained Portfolio Manager is a useful tool, allowing owners and operators to track changes in their water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs over time. It gives buildings a score between 1 and 100, and lets them compare their energy use to simila buildings. But as a government tool, it was also constrained. People were not shy about asking for enhancements. We had a running list of hundreds of enhancements that we wanted to do, and in any given year we could only get to a dozen of them, maybe two dozen, Zatz says. Even before Trump’s attacks, Energy Star’s budget had been shrinking. A decade ago, its funding was $54 million; today, it’s $38 million. (Another constraint was the fact that in previous government shutdowns, like in 2018, Portfolio Manager was also shut down; now its marked as essential to keep running.) Portfolio Manager was intended to offer buildings the basics. And it was never built to compete with anything, Zatz adds, but to foster more ideas. The EPA knew that the private sector could put more resources towards developing tools, and also create sustainability jobs. We wanted to build sort of the core, something that everybody could use, Zatz says of Energy Star, but we wanted it to then be something that could feed into other things that would be even more beneficial to the wide variety of stakeholders. Along with building owners and operators, others like lenders, insurers, investors, and auditors like to track this kind of sustainability data. This is where private companies like Measurabl can come in to offer more features. Energy Stars Portfolio Manager looks at Scope 1 and 2 emissions, for exampledirect emissions from a company’s operations and from buying the electricity, heat, or cooling to power those operations, respectively. But cant incorporate Scope 3, the indirect emissions from up and down a company’s value chain, like business travel or employee commutes, investments, and so on. Thats something Measurabl can offer, Zatz says. Portfolio Manager didnt have the bandwidth to keep a list of which buildings are subject to which emissions laws up to date, but Measurabl can. Zatz says Measurabl can work off the same model that has made Energy Star so successful: building up partnerships, creating an ecosystem of industry stakeholders, and providing data that anyone can see in useful, clear ways. And when it comes to bringing this tool to buildings around the world, he says it’s in the best position to do so. Measurabl has the most sustainability data in the industry, second only to Portfolio Manager, he says. Zatz will bring his contacts to the private company to help expand that reach: “I love that in this role, I can keep working with a lot of those same people as partners,” he says. In markets where buildings are already on Portfolio Manager, he’ll leverage that relationship to grow Measurabl. And he’ll also use his decades of experience building Portfolio Manager’s reputation to bring Measurabl to new places, “to take the same concepts and put and send them overseas, where these things don’t really exist.” Portfolio Manager wouldnt have been expanded that way anyway, even before the Trump administrations threats. “It was not in the vision of the EPA to make it global, Zatz says. But still, he emphasizes he hopes it sticks around for the U.S. and Canada. Zatz will miss the EPA, and hell miss, most, working as a public servant. Working for Measurabl, a private company, he wont be considered such anymore, but I still view it that way, he says. He hopes the real estate industry sees him in that way, too. Im hoping Ill have that same support from them, and hopefully we can continue to build on Portfolio Manager, he adds. And if not, well hopefully be there to help the industry if, God forbid, something bad happened with the Energy Star program.
Category:
E-Commerce
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