March 9, 2014

A Message from Green Badger Founder & CEO, Tommy Linstroth

Green Badger CEO Tommy Linstroth

“I love LEED, but after 10 years and 5 dozen projects I certified… I hate the LEED documentation process. That’s why I founded Green Badger.”

Hear more from Green Badger Founder & CEO, Tommy Linstroth, on what drove him to create Green Badger all those years ago.

Tommy Linstroth
Founder and CEO, Green Badger

It’s a LEED/Hate relationship…

I love LEED.

I really love what its done for the building industry. I appreciate what it has done for promoting green buildings and pushing them into everyday conversation. I am grateful that LEED has given me exposure to some great thought leaders. And I love that it has become a building block for further reaching programs such as Passive House and Living Building Challenge (neither of which would have gained traction without the popularity of LEED).

But after 10 years and 5 dozen projects I certified… I hate the LEED documentation process.

I hate that people cannot figure out what is required or not required. I’m annoyed when reviewers give me different comments on the same exact documentation on every project. I loathe that project teams still think it costs and arm and a leg to achieve.

And I hate that architects still bill more for LEED projects, even if the owner is already hiring a LEED consultant that does 100% of the documentation. I hate that in the field, LEED often gets delegated to the lowest rung on the totem pole, often to people that have no clue how to manage the process. Because of that, these well-intentioned folks can easily cost a project 2-3 points simply through ignorance or lack of experience.

And that’s why I founded Green Badger.

Designing a cutting-edge, net zero building is tough – I know! I could only get my house 50% off-grid, and I tried dang hard! Designing and building a LEED certified building is easy. As such, documenting it should be straightforward and manageable too. That’s why Green Badger seeks to help project teams do just that.

Should it be a cakewalk? No – earning LEED certification is well above what happens on every day construction projects, and there has to be rigorous quality control to ensure these buildings are really designed and built green.

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Luckily, there are better ways to do it. Green Badger is a better way.

That’s because we exist to create tools to ease the burden and cost of LEED certification.  Owners who want green buildings shouldn’t get charged more to have someone prove that they actually used the low VOC paints that were specified. Because you know what? A lot of times what is specified is not what is used. No one deserves that.

We want buildings that are energy and water efficient. We want buildings working towards net-positive. We want owners spending money on solar panels – not on paperwork. And we’re working every day to try and make that happen. Green Badger is always on the cutting edge of LEED compliance, and is now offering enhanced functionality for LEED v4.1 credits.

Green Badger's LEED Resources