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Greenbuild Comes to New York
Charlie Cichetti
October 18, 2026
Smart strategies. Sharp stories. Sustainability that sticks.
📬 INTRO: SEE YOU AT JAVITS
Greenbuild comes to New York City for the first time this week! More than 10,000 people head to the Javits Center Oct. 20-23 under this year's theme, “Invest for Impact.”
I land Monday morning and head straight to Harlem for a tour of the Apollo Theater. Charlie and I are there through Thursday. Here's a rundown on the week, day by day!
The Javits Center. Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
🌍 FIELD NOTES: YOUR GREENBUILD WEEK
🎭 Monday: Tours
The Apollo tour runs 1 to 5 p.m. and earns 4 GBCI CE hours. The theater is in its first full-scale modernization in nearly 90 years, a $65M project led by Beyer Blinder Belle. The marquee relit in June, and the public reopening is set for spring 2027.
Domino Sugar and One Vanderbilt already sold out. The Empire State Building tour is still worth a look, since it's the first LEED v5 Platinum building in New York State.
A 1914 theater and a 1931 skyscraper are both on this year's sustainability tour list.
The Apollo on 125th Street. Photo: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
🤖 Tuesday: Summits and AI
Tuesday is summit day, with five running side by side. Big shoutout to our friend Josh Mastromatto, co-founder and CEO of Rego, who is hosting the AI summit, Building Intelligence in the Age of AI. Rego is the smart materials technology behind Waste2Zero's enhanced waste audits, and Josh knows more about what's in a trash can than anyone I know!
The summit includes a session called “Proof Over Promises: Validating AI-Enabled Performance.” If you catch one AI session all week, make it that one.
That night the Urban Green Gala at Chelsea Piers honors Rick Cook of COOKFOX and Linda G. Nelson of the 32BJ Training Fund.
🎤 Wednesday and Thursday: Keynotes and Expo
Fareed Zakaria opens Wednesday at 8 a.m. Thursday's keynote is a data center panel with speakers from Google, Holder, and STACK.
The expo runs Wednesday 9 to 5 and Thursday 9 to 4. SIG and GBES, two companies Charlie co-founded, are joining forces under the TÜV SÜD brand this year. Find our friends at booth #1742, and tell them GreenBuilding.News sent you!
Left: Greenbuild expo, 2010. Photo: Charles & Hudson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Right: Javits Center. Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
🗽 The NYC Homework
Local Law 97 just finished its first year. Of the 29,031 buildings required to report for 2024, about 95% filed, and 95% of filers met their limits. The city has collected about $270,000 in penalties so far.
“Some people need the threat of fines to act, and high fines are forcing action,” DOB deputy commissioner Laura Popa told Facilities Dive. The limits tighten in 2030.
Midtown from Weehawken. Photo: Dmitry Avdeev, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A MESSAGE FROM BUILDINGPLAQUES.COM
Using buildingplaques.com online Plaque Designer, you can quickly and easily design and order customized LEED recognition plaques that features the details of your specific LEED certified project.
Our architectural grade anodized aluminum signs are available in multiple sizes, and identify the elements of your design that earn LEED certification and acknowledge key project members, all while being less expensive than comparable LEED recognition plaque options.
Ready to create your own LEED recognition plaque?
🏛 BUILT TO LAST:
Javits sits on the 7 train at 34 St-Hudson Yards. If you have a LEED v4 project in the pipeline, registration stays open until June 30, 2027.
By role:
📐 Designers: Take Friday's Rubin Hall tour to see Passive House at retrofit scale.
🔨 Builders: The Etihad Park hardhat tour shows MLS's first fully electric stadium going up in Queens.
🏢 Operators: Friday's 55 Water Street tour covers an ice-storage heat retrofit at New York's largest office building.
🌱 Emerging pros: Stop by booth #1742 and ask GBES about LEED v5 Green Associate prep.
💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Half the value of Greenbuild happens in the hallway. Leave room in your schedule for it.”
— Charlie Cichetti, CEO of Skema and LEED Fellow
🧠 TL;DR
Greenbuild hits New York Oct. 20-23. Tour the Apollo Monday, catch Josh's AI summit Tuesday, hear Fareed Zakaria Wednesday, and find SIG and GBES at TÜV SÜD booth #1742.
🧱RETROFIT THIS
🔧TOOLS DOWN:
In 1934, a 17-year-old Ella Fitzgerald walked onto the Apollo stage for Amateur Night.
Contestants still rub the Tree of Hope for luck before they go on.
On Monday, a Greenbuild tour walks through that same theater.
By Wednesday, 10,000 of us will be trading ideas on the Javits floor.
Every headliner started on amateur night.
Bring your best stuff, and find us at booth #1742!
LIMITED SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
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Reach the professionals shaping the industry—and do it with intention.
✍️ Brian Bollinger, our Head Writer, helps sustainability professionals connect performance, workflow, and real-world results.
🌍️ Charlie Cichetti, our Fearless Leader is the CEO of Skema and a LEED Fellow. He has guided more than 150,000 professionals as building practice continues to evolve.
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 ESG deadline]
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