Seth Strongin

About Seth Strongin

Seth Strongin is the Building Decarbonization Planning Director for HDR. Based in Los Angeles, California and serving all of North America, his work focuses on developing strategies for achieving net zero carbon in the built environment. Seth\'s areas of practice span decarbonization masterplanning and roadmapping, high performance new building design, existing building operational performance improvement, and urban energy infrastructure, including renewable energy, microgrids and zero emission vehicle infrastructure. He partners with a diversity of municipal, commercial, healthcare, hospitality, multifamily, institutional and healthcare clients to develop goals, analyses and implementation strategies for improving environmental performance and health outcomes. Seth has extensive sustainability and MEP engineering project management experience. He has helped clients achieve numerous green building certifications, including LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, and ENERGY STAR, and tracks the latest trends and building technologies to keep his clients at the forefront of the industry.Seth was recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Consulting Specifying Engineer and is a frequent public speaker. He is an active participant in a wide range of professional organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the USGBC-Los Angeles chapter. Specialties: Decarbonization, Net Zero Strategy, High Performance Design, Project Management, Client-Focused Solutions, Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis, Public Speaking, Written Communications

Experience

1. Building Decarbonization Planning Director

   HDR

   Jan 2024 — Present · Los Angeles, CA, US

   As Building Decarbonization Planning Director for North America, I am responsible for developing strategies for achieving net zero carbon in the built environment. I collaborate with my clients to reduce and eliminate the carbon emissions produced by their buildings, including designing new Net Zero Energy buildings and optimizing the operational performance of existing buildings, campuses and portfolios of assets. We focus on the full range of building-related carbon emissions, including both operational carbon (i.e, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from running the facility) and embodied carbon (i.e, Scope 3 emissions from building materials and the supply chain) to help our clients’ to achieve their GHG goals.We see building decarbonization as an ongoing journey that dynamically evolves over time. Whether it’s an initial step such as setting a GHG reduction target for the asset, or a post-implementation action like measurement and verification of the operational impacts from installing a new heating system, my goal is to become a trusted advisor to my clients throughout all phases of a building’s lifecycle. My work spans a diversity of client types, including but not limited to higher education, public sector/ local government, healthcare, manufacturing, bio-science, commercial real estate, transit agencies, ports and technology sector clients.

Education

• American University

  Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology

  1997 — 2001

• UC Santa Barbara

  Bren School - Master of Environmental Science and Management, Environmental Science and Management concentrating in Political Economy of the Environment

  2007 — 2009

Skills

• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Energy Efficiency
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Environmental Issues
• Research
• Oral & Written Communication Skills
• Environmental Awareness
• Policy
• Fundraising
• Renewable Energy
• Public Speaking
• Public Policy
• Policy Analysis
• Sustainable Development
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed)
• Sustainable Business
• Data Analysis
• Leed
• Project Management
• Government
• Nonprofits
• Environmental Policy
• Energy
• Microsoft Office
• Program Management
• Green Building
• Non-Profits
• Ecology
• Sustainability Consulting