The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the recipients of the 2015 Leadership Awards, which celebrate the outstanding individuals and organizations at the forefront of sustainability in the built environment. The recipients were recognized at the annual USGBC Leadership Luncheon at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo taking place in Washington, D.C. this week. 

“The recipients of USGBC’s annual Leadership Awards possess an unwavering commitment to advancing the work of our movement and truly deserve to be recognized and celebrated,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “These leaders inspire others to take action through their passion for a more sustainable world.

This year’s 2015 USGBC Leadership Award recipients include:

•   Chrissa Pagitsas, director of the Green Initiative at Fannie Mae, is being recognized for revolutionizing how we think about and deliver financial services to the multi-family industry. Under her direction, the Fannie Mae Multifamily Mortgage Business has originated more than $140 million in Green Mortgage Backed Securities.

•   Honorable Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, has exemplified outstanding leadership in the public sector. Her unwavering advocacy for the use of LEED in Army buildings has been critically important to the green building movement.

•   Amory Lovins, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, is one of the heroes of the green building movement. His visionary leadership and determination to carry the global conversation about innovation in resource use forward and to involve stakeholders from every walk of life has broadened the support base for the green building movement. 

•   Dr. Cornelius Murphy, former president and now Senior Fellow for Environmental and Sustainable Systems at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, is a leader in the academic sector and has worked tirelessly to advance the study and discussion of environmental science.

•   Romilly Madew, CEO of Green Building Council of Australia, is a convener, a collaborator and a champion for sustainable development and the green building movement around the world. 

•   Juan Ontiveros, associate vice president – utilities at the University of Texas at Austin, is the winner of the inaugural Robert W. Galvin Award given to an individual. Under his direction, the University of Texas at Austin has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in energy efficiency and capacity upgrades, all of which have been covered by energy savings.

Colgate-Palmolive Company is this year’s recipient of the Ray Anderson Radical Industrialism Award. Sponsored by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, USGBC presents this namesake award each year to a leader in the manufacturing sector whose commitment to and achievements in sustainability exemplify Ray’s vision.