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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the Built Environment

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the Built Environment

Charlie Cichetti
November 30, 2025

Smart strategies. Sharp stories. Sustainability that sticks.

📬 Intro: What are you going to do on Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown?

This week we’re taking inspiration from an unlikely source. The classic Charlie Brown Thanksgiving has more to say about the way we design, build, and manage buildings than most industry whitepapers. Small truths. Steady wisdom. A cast of characters that show us how people behave when expectations, pressure, and improvisation collide.

So here are eight lessons from Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and the gang that speak directly to the work you do every day in commercial buildings.

And yes, this is our Thanksgiving edition. Pull up a chair.

🧰 What We’re Watching

1. The Heat Transition in Buildings, Globally
Reuters takes a hard look at the race to decarbonize heat in buildings, from heat pump targets to district systems and the investment gaps slowing progress.
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/heat-transition-inside-race-break-free-fossil-fuels-buildings--ecmii-2025-11-24

2. Office-to-Living: Pew & Gensler on Co-Living Conversions
A new study on turning surplus office space into co-living units, with real numbers and design implications that translate well to other cities facing vacancy and housing pressure.
https://www.multihousingnews.com/pew-gensler-study-turning-vacant-office-space-into-co-living-units

3. Oregon’s New Building Performance Standard Incentives
Oregon just opened applications for funding to help owners plan and act early on its new BPS. A useful template for other states and a signal of where policy is headed.
https://nzero.com/blog/building-performance-standard-incentives-oregon-offers-funding-for-early-compliance-and-planning

A MESSAGE FROM SKEMA

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🏛 BUILT TO LAST: 8 Lessons from Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the Built Environment

1. Start With What You Have

Charlie Brown serves toast, popcorn, and pretzels. Not traditional, but enough to bring people together.

Takeaway: You don’t need perfect data or perfect conditions. Start with small, immediate steps toward energy cuts and waste reduction. Progress compounds.

2. Linus Leadership: Calm in Complexity

Linus keeps everyone grounded. He thinks clearly when others spiral.

Takeaway: Every project needs someone who brings focus to the mission. First principles reduce chaos.

3. The Wrong Table Is Sometimes the Right Table

A ping-pong table in the backyard becomes Thanksgiving dinner.

Takeaway: Underused spaces can become high-value assets. Try rooftops, basements, parking decks, old storage rooms. Creativity turns dead zones into productive ones.

4. Schulz’s Law: Keep It Simple

Charles Schulz built decades of influence with simple lines and simple truths.

Takeaway: Clear standards beat bloated specs. Uncluttered dashboards beat complex analytics. Choose simplicity that lasts.

5. Peppermint Patty and the Perils of Missing Expectations

Patty expects a traditional feast. She gets toast. Conflict follows.

Takeaway: Most tenant friction comes from unclear expectations, not poor performance. Align expectations early in retrofits, audits, and LEED timelines.

6. Lucy’s Football: Beware of Repeated Failure Patterns

Charlie Brown keeps believing the ball won’t be pulled away. It always is.

Takeaway: Stop repeating workflows that never work. If recycling signs fail, replace the system. If BMS upgrades keep failing, fix training and ownership. Break the loop.

7. Authentic Hospitality Beats Fancy Design

Charlie Brown’s meal is humble, but connection happens anyway.

Takeaway: Tenant experience is not kombucha taps. It’s dependable comfort, clean air, working lights, and clear communication. Deliver the basics well.

8. Consistency Over Decades

Schulz drew his strip every day for 50 years. Small work done steadily.

Takeaway: Portfolio decarbonization is the same. Incremental progress wins. Consistent audits. Consistent upgrades. Consistent reporting. Long game beats moonshot.

🧠TL;DR:

Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving is a blueprint for modern building work. Start small. Stay calm. Keep it simple. Align expectations. Break old loops. Deliver the basics. Play the long game.

🧰 Action Step: Practical Moves for This Week

Specify one thing you can simplify: A standard detail. A process. A dashboard.
Walk one underused space: Rooftops. Storage rooms. Mechanical closets. Look for hidden value.
Align one expectation early: Before the next meeting, clarify what “done” means. Prevent Peppermint Patty moments.
Break one Lucy-style pattern: Name the recurring issue. Change the method this time.

💬 Quote of the Week:

“What if today we were just grateful for everything?” — Charlie Brown

RETROFIT THIS 🖼️

Start where you are. Use what you have. Buildings improve the same way.

🔧TOOLS DOWN

Every portfolio benefits from a pause.
Step back. Notice what’s working.
Notice what you’ve built this year.
Small wins matter. Consistency matters.
Gratitude matters.
Enjoy the break and come back with clear eyes and steady hands.

✍️ Brian Bollinger, our Head Writer, helps sustainability pros connect the dots among best-in-class results, resilience and innovation.

🌍️ Charlie Cichetti, our Fearless Leader and LEED Fellow, has guided >150,000 professionals in building careers that adapt—and thrive—through change.

Let’s Green Up together.

👉 [Explore Sustainability Credentials at GBES.com]
👉 [See what Skema’s building for architects]
👉 [Book a Waste2Zero audit before your next LEED renewal]