Experts and elected officials talk about energy efficiency as a means to combat climate change

As calls increase for the world’s economies to move away from fossil fuels, there is a growing focus on investing in energy efficiency, from energy-efficient lightbulbs to thermal insulation and other large-scale materials. Join Washington Post Live for a series of conversations with Donnel Baird, CEO of BlocPower, Jason F. McLennan, CEO of McLennan Design, and Lauren Faber O’Connor, chief sustainability officer for the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, about energy efficiency as a means to combat climate change, clean the air we breathe and reduce energy costs.

Highlights

“Beyond energy, it’s important to remember when you’re talking about green building it’s not just energy that we care about. We care about people’s health and their well-being. So, we look at air quality, we look at toxicity of materials. We look at how materials are made that we build our homes or retrofit existing buildings with, so that we don’t have a toxic legacy…Green building is a very holistic way of looking how you design or operate anything to ensure that’s it’s better for people and it’s better for the planet.”- Jason F. McLennan (Video: Washington Post Live)

“We focus on greening existing buildings. Particularly buildings in financially underserved communities, like the ones where I grew up. I know these buildings; I know these communities. I did have a chance to travel the country as a senior staffer for both Obama campaigns and I saw, in my travels, the patterns of energy insecurity, of energy poverty, of lack of investment, in lack of technical assistance to properly maintain heating, cooling hot water systems in buildings so that families can be healthy."- Donnel Baird (Video: Washington Post Live)

I really believe that that the work of L.A.'s "Green New Deal" is embedded in our public. The public will hold our elected officials, whether that’s city council, a mayor and whether that’s the appointed general managers of our city departments, they will hold everyone accountable. And also, what we’ve done is we have embedded these policies and these programs across the city. This is not something that sits with any one mayor, or any one city council office. This is really the work embedded in our utility, in our port, in our department of transportation…all of these things, I believe, have staying power and have the support from the public in order to gain and maintain support from elected officials."- Lauren Faber O’Connor (Video: Washington Post Live)

“In L.A. it is an absolute that we must, not only take on the climate emergency, but that L.A. has a responsibility to lead…Not only do we have the opportunity to lead in Los Angeles, but as the owner and operator of the largest municipal electric and water utility in the country...we actually must show the rest of the world how it can be done."- Lauren Faber O’Connor (Video: Washington Post Live)

Donnel Baird

CEO, BlocPower

Jason F. McLennan

CEO, McLennan Design

Lauren Faber O’Connor

Chief Sustainability Officer, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Content from JLL Technologies

The following content is produced and paid for by a Washington Post Live event sponsor. The Washington Post newsroom is not involved in the production of this content.

(Video: Washington Post Live)

Enabling Sustainability with Proptech

In a segment sponsored by JLL Technologies, the conversation will touch on how commercial real estate industry is evolving in light of new mandates for reducing emissions, increasing interest from property owners in sustainable technology, and what the future holds for smart buildings.

Ramya Ravichandar

Vice President, Sustainability Products, JLL Technologies