Jenna Ward
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
David Cooperrider
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Sustainable Design Consulting was founded in 2002 by Sandra Liebowitz. It was the first business in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. to offer innovative and sustainable solutions for built environments. SDC will accept buildings in any stage of completion, from consulting in the design phase of a building to retrofitting an existing one. It is based in Richmond, Virginia, but maintains an office in Washington, D.C., employs more than 20 people, and has completed more than 500 large scale projects that integrate sustainability and green building concepts into buildings or built environments. In so doing, SDC fosters sustainable cities and communities (UN Goal 11) through its innovative work in the construction industry (UN Goal 9), and promotes good health and well being (UN Goal 3), since environmentally sustainable buildings reduce the number of illnesses and deaths from pollution, waste, and the use of toxic products in construction.
As the founder and Managing Principal of her business, Sandra Leibowitz has in recent years invested increasingly more time into ensuring a stable and profitable business than she has spent on project management. Thus, when asked about the innovative solutions Sustainable Design Consulting has created for its clients, she is hard put to recall specific examples.
Her first client she recalls vividly, however, as at the time she was the sole employee of her business and thus completely involved in the project. Eastern Co-Housing in Silver Spring, Maryland, was, in Leibowitz’s words, a “god-awful, U-shaped office building.” Her company was hired to retrofit it to make it more environmentally sustainable and achieve an LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating as part of its redesign into a co-housing community. They designed a green-roof – at the time a very innovative concept – and implemented other retrofits that resulted in a Silver LEED certification.
But Leibowitz believes that her true innovation was creating a profitable business based on sustainable design, which was new, at least in D.C., when she did it. It can be hard to recall, but sustainable, so-called “green” design is barely two decades old. LEED certification itself didn’t even start until 1993, and evolved from a single standard for construction to the comprehensive program it is today. Leibowitz’ ability to successfully, and for her client affordably, achieve Silver Certification was the start of a business that is today one of the best-regarded firms operating in the Mid-Atlantic.
When asked to describe an innovative solution, Leibowitz remained focused on the business itself, saying “I obsess about implementation of ideas. Facilitating it happening – making it work is the innovation. (I have to) bring to bear all the resources and recognize limitations” even when, she says, ”human resources may be the limitation.”
But it turns out she isn’t talking about hiring and firing. In reflecting on my question about innovation she spoke about Potomac Yards, a large multi-use complex in Washington, D.C. that involved a number of different projects and consultants, of which Sustainable Design Consulting was one. The relationship between the developer and the tenants, of which the Environmental Protection Agency was the largest, became very contentious and was left to an attorney to manage. The tenants wanted information about the sustainability aspects of the project, and the developers’ lawyer habitually responded “we’re not contractually required to provide that information,” resulting in a near stalemate when it came to moving forward on the sustainability side of the project. Finally, Leibowitz related, she got the innovative idea to take over the next meeting by providing the information herself to the tenants. Without warning, her firm resolved the matter, “I basically handed out stacks of information, ignored the lawyer and took over the meeting, and provided the information to the client myself.” After that, the project proceeded steadily.
Today Potomac Yard exemplifies the best in sustainable urban redevelopment. The fact that the former rail yard now offers the kind of restaurants, shops, apartments, and bike-shares one associates with high-end urban neighborhoods only underscores the significance of its underlying sustainability, as thousands of people who live, work, eat and play there every day fuel the economic engine of the neighborhood.
The breadth of the work accomplished by Sustainable Design Consulting is striking, and Potomac Yard was just one of hundreds of projects. The company's portfolio ranges from office buildings, schools, and residences to the seal and sea lion exhibit at the National Zoo and the Hindu Center in Glen Allen, Virginia.
SDC’s contributions to the industry have been widely recognized, but for Leibowitz the high point was the International Green Building Conference in 2015, when its tour of local green buildings included six SDC projects.
It should be added that, although she did not cite this as a high point, in 2017 Leibowitz received the Green Building & Design Magazine Women in Sustainability Leadership Award, confirming her reputation as role model to those who aspire to a career in sustainable design, or to a future as a successful business owner.
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Sandra Leibowitz, Managing Principal
Kara Strong, Project Director
Sustainable Design Consulting, LLC provides project management, training, design, assessment, and other services to the green building industry. SDC is known for creating innovative solutions for sustainable built environments, and is widely regarded as a leader in the industry. SDC has 20 SDC-Logo.pngemployees, is based in Richmond, VA, and has an office in Washington, D.C.