Photo courtesy of Skanska
Steve Clem
Skanska, a global leader in sustainable building, has restructured its U.S. Building 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.
"Steve and Myrrh are central to our commitment to sustainability," said Steve Stouthamer, executive vice president, project planning, Skanska USA Building. "As senior vice presidents, they'll leverage Skanska's 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."
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, the company said.
Skanska's 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.
Photo courtesy of Skanska
Myrrh Caplan
Since joining Skanska as a project manager in 2005, Caplan has helped shape Skanska's national approach to sustainable building. She established the company's first national Green Construction program and chaired Skanska's 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 on nearly 300 certified projects and projects seeking LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL, Envision and other certifications. In 2023, Caplan co-created the Associated General Contractors of America Task Force on Decarbonization and Carbon Reporting 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.
Clem joined Skanska as a project engineer in 1997 and over the years, established himself as one of Skanska's staunchest sustainability leaders. In his role, Clem is responsible for setting and achieving Skanska's decarbonization goals in the United States and works with construction teams to identify sustainable procurement solutions for clients including the use of mass timber.
Clem's efforts to reduce the industry's embodied carbon began over 15 years ago and he has been influencing procurement with the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3 Tool) since Skanska co-created and launched the tool in 2019. Clem also has authored multiple cost studies that demystify the adoption of environmentally preferable construction strategies.
Clem spearheaded Skanska's early participation in the Living Building Challenge — first with the influential Living Building Challenge Financial Study and then with the Bertschi School project. He holds certifications from the US Green Building Council, International Living Future Institute, and OSHA, among other accrediting agencies. Clem also is 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 Caplan's leadership:
- Skanska set an ambitious target 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 on mass timber projects for more than a decade, improving construction schedules while reaping the environmental, health and aesthetic benefits.
- Skanska has delivered over 44 million sq. ft. of space that has been certified across several systems including LEED, Envision, Green Globes, Fitwel and Living Building Challenge. On its own development projects, it targets a minimum of LEED Gold, with many projects achieving LEED Platinum.
- Skanska supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to address issues like climate action, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production.
- Skanska is ISO 14001 certified to ensure consistent environmental performance and continuous improvement. Skanska's 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.
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