The story of one man’s efforts to turn the building industry green.

David Gottfried isn’t the first son in history so blinded by his father’s demand for success that he followed an ambitious course that led to an early mid-life crisis. In fact, he had two by the time he was 42.

Gottfried’s memoir, Greed to Green, offers a portrait of a career that covers ten years in the comfortable niche of commercial real estate development, followed by ten years on the rough frontier of an unformed industry: sustainable, or “green,” building.

While not a remarkable literary achievement, Greed to Green is a compelling tale about finding the will to surmount obstacles and live according to one’s convictions. This engaging story will inspire anyone setting out to effect political or environmental change—or anyone in pursuit of a difficult dream.

Gottfried grew up in Southern California, a top student, four-sport athlete, high school student body president, and graduate of Stanford University. In 1982 he moved to Washington, DC where two cousins taught him the ropes of their booming commercial real estate and construction businesses.

The 22-year-old Gottfried arrived in a new navy blue suit, red tie, and Florsheim shoes—only to be immediately retrofitted in expensive Italian suits and shoes. “I wanted what they had, and if that meant wearing what they wore, then I would do that,” Gottfried recalls.

Gottfried worked overtime to become adept at every aspect of real estate development. His cousins introduced him to fine dining and decorating, encouraged him to collect art, and awarded him occasional five-figure bonus checks.

“Some of the deals added over $100,000 to my personal net worth,” Gottfried relates. “None of us had to pay income taxes…I was surprised at how easy the game was.”

But even with the pedigree, top-notch education, and money, Gottfried’s course was anything but clear. He recounts this period of his life mostly in a folksy style—as an Everyman who wandered around trying to find his way in the shadow of self-doubt.

Gottfried woke up pretty much overnight in 1992 at an American Institute of Architects convention. The theme of the convention was sustainable building through conservation and preservation of natural resources. The passion and logic of the presenters inspired Gottfried. He considered the massive waste created by his firm’s projects—entire buildings demolished and carted off to landfills, wasteful energy systems, non-recyclable materials, toxic materials that off-gassed and harmed worker health and productivity.

Construction is the world’s largest industry, worth approximately $3 trillion globally and $700 billion in the US alone. Greening this industry would benefit the environment and reap vast financial rewards, Gottfried figured, through immediate benefits such as lower utility bills and reduction of waste transport and dumping, as well as harder-to-calculate benefits such as increased worker productivity.

Gottfried began incorporating green elements into projects, but finding sustainable resources and products was problematic. He also saw there was no criteria for defining a “sustainable” building, and no system to rate such buildings. To remedy that, Gottfried became chair of a green building subcommittee of the American Society of Testing and Materials and set about drafting a building standard.

It was a hard road, beset by many disappointments. Eventually Gottfried and a colleague founded a nonprofit to promote sustainable building, hoping to establish building standards, a resource center, an economic benefits study, and a building rating system.

Gottfried was broke by the time he and his partner met with powerful industry leaders to gather support for the idea. He spent months soliciting firms to attend a first meeting and, to his relief, 60 sent representatives. Most became dues-paying members. Today, the United States Green Building Council has 3,500 member organizations.

Perhaps Gottfried’s greatest achievement was the creation of a point system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED) that is now an industry standard for buildings’ environmental efficiency. Buildings are awarded at four levels (Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum) according to six categories (sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environment quality, and innovation and design process). Today, the US Navy asks for LEED Silver on all construction, and cities including Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Portland require LEED Silver for civic buildings.

During an illness Gottfried realized that while he was trying to save the Earth, his own physical, social and spiritual life was anything but healthy. He created a personal rating system and worked toward change, while owning up to the downside of his competitive nature, single-minded pursuit of goals, impatience and arrogance.

Gottfried’s book does not wallow in the supercilious proselytizing of the newly enlightened. The author stays true to the facts yet avoids copious scientific argument to support his environmental case, though his story may well result in some converts.

David Gottfried signs his book tonight at 7pm at Thunderbird Bookstore in the Carmel Barnyard. 624-1803.