Who Are We
Mission:
The Green Roundtable is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to mainstream green, healthy, efficient, and intentional building and development. We promote and support this mission through education, policy advocacy, strategic outreach and technical assistance, while recognizing that all of our constituents are fellow agents of change.
GRT's goal is to advance the state of the art until all infrastructure, buildings and communities are designed, constructed and managed sustainably. Our ultimate vision is to completely transform the standard paradigm of development, planning and architectural design.
Story:
In 1998, Founder and Executive Director Barbra Batshalom—addressing the inefficiency and dysfunction in the way buildings were designed and built— originated a series of “roundtables” to discuss the issues and devise potential solutions. Initially, a small group met during lunch hour to discuss ways to integrate sustainable design into their mainstream practice. The group grew rapidly, drawing in other like-minded people who were pursuing parallel efforts.
Over the course of a year, it became clear that there was a vacuum in this region that had to be filled, a demand for dialogue, expertise, and education. The organization evolved from this group, and has stepped in to fill this vacuum by providing a forum for people from multiple disciplines to engage in proactive, effective dialogue around design and construction issues. The original lunch group grew to 450 participants in the first year, hit 3,000 after just three years, and is now 25,000. Participants come from every sector related to design, construction and post occupancy of the built environment. The Green Roundtable addresses the "disconnects" by coordinating the activities of all of the relevant stakeholders, and leveraging their independent expertise and activities into a more unified, coherent big picture to achieve maximum impact.
What started as a few people getting together at lunch to share resources and lessons learned, evolved into an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to mainstreaming sustainable design with a systematic approach implemented through an array of programs: the NEXUS Green Building Resource Center (open from February 2007-December 2010), a robust consulting & training organization, and programs such as the Sustainable Performance Institute Certification.
GRT and USGBC:
GRT was the Massachusetts Affiliate of USGBC for eight years. Over the past three years, GRT has supported the community’s efforts to establish a Chapter, which is a member-driven organization representing USGBC throughout the Commonwealth. With this change, our partnership with USGBC has evolved and will continue to bring new collaborative opportunities. We look forward to working closely with both organizations to continue to provide green education, policy and technical assistance programs and services. Learn more about the Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC at www.usgbcma.org.
