Convincing the CFO: Making the Financial Case for Sustainable Design
Joe Phillips, MBA, AIA, Phillips Collaborative
This presentation is a holistic look at all the organizational groups influenced by sustainable design and the financial ramifications for them. It introduces financial principles and relationships necessary for effective discussions with financial decision-makers involved in project creation.
The primary barriers to greater implementation of sustainable design for laboratories are financial and management issues. Both perception and reality of added cost continue to influence decisions about whether to go green, as well as the degree of sustainability a laboratory project or science enterprise will adopt. Existing thinking dramatically limits what sustainable design can achieve. For example, typical cost models for projects cover only direct construction expenses—operating expenses are not typically considered as part of project finances. In addition, governance models lack sufficient integration to create incentives for adopting sustainable design—operations and construction work in isolated silos. Any change or challenge to the "typical" approach has the potential to increase costs not directly associated with projects or facilities, and these are often not apparent to project teams. Change also introduces uncertainty in a building type where proven methods are highly desirable. Finally, significant science-based factors, such as risk, are not adequately matched to design decisions—the result is current guidelines and prior practices become default design criteria.
This presentation explains basic economic considerations and presents a relationship map that illustrates the links between facility design and comprehensive organizational finance. It traces how and where sustainable alternatives affect current laboratory financial models. It presents alternative financial perspectives and structures for laboratory projects that facilitate sustainable design, generate growth in the green economy, encourage the use of renewable energy, and promote innovation.
Biography:
Joe Phillips is currently with Phillips Collaborative, LLC. In his capacity as CEO and project director, Mr. Phillips concentrates on the enhancement of science and technology missions through expert planning and design of operation-critical facilities. He brings a special focus to the recovery of capital resources through the development and implementation of sustainability programs for facilities, scientific operations, and maintenance. He has been instrumental in the integration of sustainable principles into both individual projects and the practice of facility design for research. He has served on the U.S. Green Building Council's Core Committee responsible for the development of the LEED Application Guide for Laboratories. He serves on the Board of Directors for I2SL, and is a frequent lecturer and author on sustainable laboratory design and operations. His current focus is helping organizations implement sustainability programs beyond facility projects.
Joe Phillips has been a leader on capital projects worldwide for prominent research and healthcare enterprises and has successfully executed senior management responsibilities during the course of his 20-year career with top architecture and engineering firms. For 15 years prior, he was a scientist and operations manager responsible for technology development and transfer for healthcare and science organizations.
Mr. Phillips is a registered architect and earned a Master of Business Administration from New York University, specializing in finance, a Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado, and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Bucknell University.