Lessons from Afar: Innovative Energy Efficiency Policies from Across the Atlantic

As a director of Atelier Ten and leader of its global energy analysis practice, Nico consults on a wide variety of large scale residential, commercial and institutional buildings, as well as on masterplan and renovation work in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Nico has particular experience with the application of advanced building analysis including facade optimization, daylight and shading analysis, and optimization of building systems. Recent work includes the first LEED Platinum condominium high rise in New York City, the sustainability framework for Columbia’s new Manhattanville Campus, and the adaptive reuse of the Horno3 blast furnace for the Museum of Steel in Monterrey, Mexico. Nico teaches building systems integration at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Architecture Program and the core building systems class at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation.

He is a LEED Fellow, and serves as a representative member of the U.S. General Services Administrations (GSA) Green Building Advisory Committee. Nico holds a Dipl. Ing. in Architecture from the Technical University in Munich, an M.S. in Building Technology from MIT and a Doctor of Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Cecil Scheib, Chief Program Officer, Urban Green Council

Previously, as Director of Advocacy, he organized efforts of the Building Resiliency Task Force at the request of the NYC Mayor and Speaker, and has led Urban Green’s green codes efforts since 2012. With over 20 years sustainability experience, Cecil was formerly Director of Energy and Sustainability at New York University, cutting energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in five years. He wrote NYU’s Climate Action Plan and Energy and Water Design Standards for new construction, and managed the Sustainable Landscaping and Recycling Shops. Prior to NYU, he founded Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, an off-grid community of 75 residents dedicated to innovating sustainable technology and social systems. Cecil teaches GPRO:O&M through SEIU Local 32 BJ Thomas Shortman Training Fund. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and a Professional Engineer’s license from New York State, and is a Certified Energy Manager and LEED Accredited Professional.

Miranda Schreurs, Director, Environmental Policy Research Centre and Professor at (FFU) Freie Universität Berlin

Prior to this she was Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland. Schreurs’ work focuses on comparative environmental politics and policy in Europe, the US, and East Asia. She was born and raised in the United States and has also lived for extended periods in Japan and Germany and briefly in the Netherlands. Her PhD is from the University of Michigan and her MA and BA from the University of Washington. She has also spent time researching or teaching at Harvard University, Utrecht University, the Freie Universität Berlin, Keio University, Chuo University, and Rikkyo University and has held fellowships from the SSRC-MacArthur