Robert Watson

World-renown sustainability expert, Rob Watson, is a maverick leader and disruptive change agent who solves systemic problems through market transformation and first-of-a-kind solutions. Widely considered one of the founders of the global green building movement, Rob is best known as the "Founding Father of LEED." Under his direction, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) became the most commonly used international standard by which green buildings are measured worldwide.

In the book Hot, Flat and Crowded, author Thomas Friedman called Rob "one of the best environmental minds in America," and in 2019, Rob was named by Dartmouth Alumni Magazine as one of The 25 Most Influential Alumni in the college's entire 250-year history.

A visionary who makes it real, his presentations are thought provoking, dynamic and engaging. Rob's award-winning experience and insights make him an exciting and popular keynote speaker on a wide range of environmental, business and futurist topics.

Rob has spent three decades conceiving and implementing market transformation policies, programs and projects on four continents that combine regulatory push with market pull to optimize environmental and economic outcomes.

Rob seeks to optimize energy and environmental benefits through the intersection of services and technologies across multiple sectors -- from green buildings, and sustainable urban mobility to zero waste management. Rob's influential work in green buildings, solid waste, and sustainable tourism has dramatically impacted multiple sectors including energy efficiency and climate change to make life better for all species on Earth.

As part of his market transformation approach, in 2016 Rob launched SWEEP, the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance standard, a comprehensive sustainable materials management framework for municipal solid waste programs and private companies. From 2016 to 2018, Rob was recognized as an international Be Waste Wise Pioneer.

Since 2007, he has been in a leadership role at four clean tech start-ups ranging from international and US-based green building services & technology companies to a zero-waste technology.

Before this, as Senior Scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for over 21 years as Director of the International Energy and Green Building programs, Rob spent 10 years promoting energy efficiency and utility energy saving programs in Russia and the Former Soviet Union and another 10 years in China on green buildings. His influential work in green buildings, energy efficiency, solid waste, clean technology and sustainable tourism has led to wholesale change in these sectors across the globe.

Rob has been honored with several national and international awards. In 2019, he was named by Dartmouth Alumni Magazine as one of The 25 Most Influential Alumni in the college's 250 year history. He is also a 2019 Top 50 Construction Influencer according to Building Connected, an International Be Waste Wise Pioneer since 2016, and a 2013 BRIT International Award of Excellence in Conservation recipient. For his leadership as the Founder of LEED, Watson was the recipient of the First Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2002.

Notable awards for his international work include a commendation from Gosstroi, the Russian State Construction Ministry, for his work on the Sochi Olympics. Watson was also the first foreigner to receive the Energy Innovation Award from China's Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Development (formerly the Ministry of Construction) for his work on China's first green building, his contributions to China's energy efficiency building codes on residential and commercial buildings (the Three-Star green building rating system), and his contribution on the 2008 Beijing Olympics green building policy.

Rob has given hundreds of keynotes and participated on corporate, university and government panels as participant and moderator. He is consistently ranked #1 as an annual speaker at the Green Schools Alliance's Student Climate & Conservation Congress of the Department of Interior's National Conservation Training Center (NCTC).

Rob has authored and been featured in numerous articles and publications worldwide and is a regular speaker and conference keynote. Mr. Watson has an AB from Dartmouth College, an MSc from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia University. On a personal note, he is also a gardener, chef and former world-class rower. Desiring to give back, Rob recently also joined the faculty of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) as an Adjunct Professor.