Skanska, a global leader in sustainable building, has restructured its Sustainability Team to better serve client and company goals. Co-led by Steve Clem and Myrrh Caplan, who together bring decades of experience, the team will allow Skanska to continue to set the bar for the industry.
āSteve and Myrrh are central to our commitment to sustainability,āĀ said Steve Stouthamer, Executive Vice President, Project Planning, Skanska USA Building.Ā āAs Senior Vice Presidents, theyāll leverage Skanskaās global and domestic initiatives to protect our environment and ensure the resilience of the communities we build in. By harnessing their collective expertise, we can make significant strides toward our decarbonization goals while continuing to set the bar for sustainable industry practices.ā
With Clem and Caplan at the helm, Skanska is well positioned to support clients and maximize opportunities for sustainability consulting, as state and federal agencies implement stricter sustainability requirements for buildings and construction. Skanskaās robust Sustainability Team, located throughout the country, will continue supporting Clem and Caplan with helping clients meet and exceed their sustainability goals, advancing industry and client outcomes through innovation and research, and identifying opportunities to create more value-add solutions.
Since joining Skanska as a Project Manager in 2005, Caplan has helped shape Skanskaās national approach to sustainable building. She established the companyās first national Green Construction program and chaired Skanskaās first National Green Council. Throughout the past decade, she has managed multiple initiatives including carbon lifecycle analysis and efforts that benefit clients and the industry. Caplan leads Skanska's National Sustainability Team, made up of consultants and advisors.
Caplan was named a 2022 LEED Fellow by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), one of twenty professionals from around the world recognized for their work in advancing green building practices. To date, Caplan has advised onĀ nearly 300Ā certified projects and projects seeking LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL, Envision, and other certifications. In 2023, Caplan co-created the Associated General Contractors of AmericaĀ Task Force on Decarbonization and Carbon ReportingĀ to address the challenges around reporting and reducing carbon emissions within construction. She sits on the board of mindfulMaterials, serves on several industry committees, and participates in research with key partners.
Steve Clem joined Skanska as a project engineer in 1997 and over the years, established himself as one of Skanskaās staunchest sustainability leaders. In his role, Clem is responsible for setting and achieving Skanskaās decarbonization goals in the United States and works with construction teams to identify sustainable procurement solutions for clients including the use of mass timber. Clemās efforts to reduce the industryās embodied carbon began over 15 years ago and he has been influencing procurement with theĀ Embodied Carbon in Construction CalculatorĀ (EC3 Tool) since Skanska co-created and launched the tool in 2019. Clem has also authored multiple cost studies that demystify the adoption of environmentally preferable construction strategies.
Clem spearheaded Skanskaās early participation in the Living Building Challenge ā first with the influentialĀ Living Building Challenge Financial StudyĀ and then with theĀ Bertschi SchoolĀ project. He holds certifications from the US Green Building Council, International Living Future Institute, and OSHA, among other accrediting agencies. Clem is also president of the construction safety non-profit, SafeBuild Alliance, and sits on the board of Building Transparency, which manages the EC3 Tool.
The built environment accounts for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions globally, with approximately 11 percent embodied in construction materials and an estimated 28 percent stemming from building operations. To reduce its impact on the planet, Skanska has had a long trajectory of environmental accomplishments under Clem and Caplanās leadership:
- Skanska set anĀ ambitious targetĀ to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 in its own operations and across its entire value chain. As an interim target, its development operations aim to achieve a 70 percent reduction by 2030.
- Skanska has been working onĀ mass timber projectsĀ for more than a decade, improving construction schedules while reaping the environmental, health, and aesthetic benefits.
- Skanska has delivered overĀ 44 million square feetĀ ofĀ space that has been certifiedĀ across several systems including LEEDĀ®, Envisionā¢, Green Globes, Fitwel and Living Building Challenge. On our own development projects, we target a minimum of LEEDĀ® Gold, with many projects achieving LEED Platinum.
- Skanska supports theĀ United Nations Sustainable Development GoalsĀ to address issues like climate action, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production.
- Skanska isĀ ISO 14001 certifiedĀ to ensure consistent environmental performance and continuous improvement. Skanskaās ISO 14001 certification program has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council.
- Skanska partners with organizations to transform the industry, investing in research and technology, and pioneering sustainable construction practices.
More Information on Skanskaās Sustainability Initiatives:
About Skanska
Skanska uses knowledge & foresight to shape the way people live, work, and connect. More than 135 years in the making, weāre one of the worldās largest development and construction companies. We operate in select markets throughout the Nordics, Europe and the United States. Skanska in the U.S. is headquartered in New York City with 29 offices around the country.Ā In 2022, construction in the U.S. generated $6.9 billion in revenue, and as a developer in the U.S., Skanska has invested a total of $3.5 billion in commercial and multi-family projects.Ā Together with our customers and the collective expertise of our 6,500 teammates in the U.S. and 28,000 globally, we create innovative and sustainable solutions that support healthy living beyond our lifetime.
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