BetterBricks held its annual awards in October, drawing more than 600 people to events in Boise, Portland and Seattle. BetterBricks awards recognize architects, engineers, developers, building owners, facility managers, service providers, and other building professionals who in their work demonstrate leadership for sustainable, high performance, commercial buildings.

“Each year we’re seeing more people attending and submitting entries to the awards, a clear indication of how fast the high performance building industry is growing,” said Skip Schick, NEEA senior manager.

This year’s award winners represent a range of achievements in energy efficiency in commercial buildings in the Northwest. Some examples are:

• Jim Walker, facilities engineer for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, implemented strategies to bring energy efficiency to 13 buildings totaling 1.4 million grow square feet
• Terry Taylor, director of facilities, at Gresham Barlow School District in Oregon, saved the equivalent of 22 teaching jobs by implementing energy-efficient tactics in schools
• Steve Benner, architect, with CSHQA Architects, Boise, is an accredited LEED professional and leads CSHQA’s green team.

Schick said the awards offer a win/win opportunity for those in the building field and NEEA’s utility partners.

“The competition is an effective way for us to not only recognize those in the Northwest who are doing great things in green building, but also to share and learn from those who break new ground. Attendees go away saying, ‘that might work at my place,’” he said.

Visit www.betterbricks.com/awards for a complete list of BetterBricks award winners.