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9th Annual Sustainability Symposium

Join us virtually April 30 & May 1 from 12-3pm ET!


Sustainability Symposium 2025: Force of Nature is a transformative two-day virtual event exploring groundbreaking innovation and actionable solutions for a sustainable future. From ClimateTech advancements to financial models that bend the emissions curve, industry leaders and visionaries will discuss how to drive change in key areas like enabling technologies, resilient communities, microgrids, and decarbonization. This event promises to equip participants with insights, case studies, and tangible solutions they need to affect positive change. Don’t miss this inspiring journey into the future of climate action!

 The Schedule

April 30th

12:00 pm ET - Kill the Carbon, Keep the Comfort: The Net Zero Revolution is Here!—Sara Gutterman, CEO Green Builder Media

The way we design and power our homes is undergoing a massive transformation—and we’re all part of the revolution. Join Sara Gutterman as she unpacks the tech-driven shift from basic energy efficiency to net zero carbon living—where buildings play a pivotal role in generating clean power, reducing resource use, diminishing emissions, and mitigating climate change.

🌳What’s in it for you?

  • Game-changing technologies that make sustainability effortless.
  • Next-gen materials & construction hacks that reshape how we build.
  • Market trends & policies pushing us toward a carbon-free future.
  • The rise of regenerative homes—spaces that give back more than they take.
This isn’t just about saving energy—it’s about redefining how we live in a connected, climate resilient world. If you’re a forwarding-thinking leader, sustainability advocate, or just obsessed with what’s next, don’t miss this opening session.
12:30 pm ET - Burn the Rulebook: The Radical Future of Homebuilding—Allan Merrill, CEO Beazer Homes

The old way of building? Dead. The future? Smarter, stronger, and built to thrive.
Allan Merrill is here to rip up the rulebook and lay out a radical new vision for the homes of
tomorrow—where sustainability isn’t a buzzword, it’s the foundation. Where AI and digitalization
don’t just tweak efficiency, they transmute how we live.

🔥What’s Coming?

  • Resilient, self-sustaining homes built to outlast and outsmart climate chaos.
  • AI-driven living spaces that adapt, predict, and optimize in real time.
  • Affordability meets intelligence—why the greenest homes will be accessible to all.
  • The death of “business as usual”—why homebuilders must innovate or get left behind.
  • The rise of sustainable sanctuaries—where comfort, efficiency, and resilience converge.
Forget slow progress—the industry is about to get a hard reset. If you want a glimpse into the next era of homebuilding, this session is your front-row seat to the revolution.

The future isn’t waiting. Are you ready?
1:00 Power, Water & Survival: The Race to Keep the Lights On & Taps Flowing—Jacob Atalla, VP Sustainability, KB Homes & Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature at Earth Finance

The climate is shifting. Resources are tightening. The old systems are failing.
Jacob Atalla and Will Sarni are here to pull back the curtain on next-gen water and energy tech that’s rewriting the survival guidebook in a hotter, drier, more unpredictable world.

💡What’s Changing?

  • Microgrids & Onsite Water Generation – Taking power and water off the grid and into our hands.
  • Next-Level Water Recycling & Desalination – Because wasting water is no longer an option.
  • Integrated Renewable Energy – Clean power that actually keeps up with demand.
  • Scaling the Solutions – What’s working now, and what’s coming next.

This session provides a hard, fast primer about reshaping entire communities, industries, and micro-economies around smarter, more resilient resource management.

The future belongs to those who adapt. Will you?

2:00 pm ET - AI & Sustainability: Game-Changer or Apocalypse Machine?

AI is coming for everything—but is it the hero or the villain in the fight for a sustainable future?

💥The Big Questions:

  • Will AI slash CO₂ emissions—or just guzzle energy and make things worse?
  • Can AI-driven systems optimize grids, cut waste, and revolutionize resource use?
  • Is AI the key to unlocking fusion power, water breakthroughs, and next-gen renewables, or are we just outsourcing climate solutions to an unpredictable black box?
AI is moving fast—but is it pushing us toward a cleaner, smarter planet or hurling us toward an energy-hungry dystopia? This session rips open the debate and separates the real solutions from the hype.
2:30 pm ET - Sustainability is No Longer Just a Footprint Initiative—It’s a Mindset Shift—Laura Kohler, Chief Sustainable Living Officer, Kohler

Sustainability isn’t just about what companies do behind the scenes—it’s about empowering and inspiring customers to make better choices every day. The businesses that seamlessly integrate sustainability into their products, messaging, and experiences will lead the next era of responsible living.

 🌎What’s Driving the Shift?

  • Empowering the entire value chain—from design teams to specifiers, marketers to sales teams, and suppliers to end users, sustainability must be second nature.
  • Sustainable choices made easy—businesses must integrate sustainability into products, processes, and messaging so customers are naturally inspired to choose better.
  • Beyond footprint reduction—why the next wave of sustainability is about enabling people to live more sustainably, not just improving corporate operations.
  • Business resilience through community investment—companies that strengthen the ecosystems around them—both human and environmental—will thrive in the long run.
Sustainability is no longer just a corporate goal—it’s a business imperative that must be seamlessly embedded into every touchpoint. The future belongs to those who make it an instinct, not an initiative.

May 1st

12:00 pm ET - Climate Capitalism: Saving the Planet is the Smartest Investment Yet—Akshat Rathi, Senior Climate Reporter, Bloomberg

Forget the outdated myth that saving the planet comes at a cost—climate capitalism is proving that the real money is in sustainability.

The Big Truth: It’s now cheaper to save the world than to destroy it. The smartest companies aren’t just cutting emissions—they’re making a killing while doing it.

🚗What’s Driving the Shift?
  • Regulations, market trends & demand surges turning sustainability into big business
  • Scalable climate solutions that slash emissions without slashing profits
  • How green investments reduce risk, attract top talent & boost shareholder value
  • Why companies ignoring climate capitalism are setting themselves up to fail

This isn’t charity—it’s good business strategy. The companies betting on climate solutions are winning big. The ones dragging their feet? Well, they won’t be around much longer to tell the tale.

The market has spoken: Sustainability isn’t just necessary—it’s profitable. Are you cashing in or getting left behind?

12:30 pm ET - ClimateTech Evolution

The way we build, power, feed, and live is being completely reengineered—and there’s no turning back. The latest ClimateTech breakthroughs aren’t just upgrades; they’re redefining the rubrics of sustainability, resilience, and self-sufficiency.

🔬Inside the Revolution:
  • Phase Change Materials – Buildings that store and release energy like a battery.
  • Fully Circular Products – Goodbye waste, hello infinite sustainability.
  • Next-Level Energy, Resource and Waste Management – Because wasting natural capital is just silly in our resource-constrained world.
We aren’t just tweaking at the margins here—these are breakthrough climate solutions.

The question isn’t if you’ll adopt these innovations—it’s whether you’ll be ahead of the curve or scrambling to catch up.
1:00 pm ET - Resiliency Evolution: Building for a World That Won’t Play Nice—Matt Power, Editor-in-Chief, Green Builder Media, Marshall Gobuty, CEO Pearl Homes, and Cynthia Adams, Pearl Certification

The climate isn’t waiting. Storms are stronger, heat is relentless, and the old way of building? It’s failing. This powerhouse panel is here to lay out the blueprint for survival.

💡What’s Changing?

  • Climate-Responsive Design – Homes that adapt, protect, and fight back.
  • Tough Materials – Built to withstand chaos.
  • Resiliency = Market Power – Why homes that can’t handle the future won’t have one.
This isn’t about minor upgrades—it’s about making sure the places we live don’t become liabilities.
Nature isn’t pulling punches. It’s time to decide—will we build to endure or be left picking up the pieces?
2:00 pm ET - Don’t Say the ‘D’ Word: Winning the Decarbonization Debate in Hostile Territory—Reuven Carlyle, Founder, Earth Finance & Former Washington State Senator

They can scrub "climate change" from federal websites. They can pretend ESG is a dirty word. But reality doesn’t care about politics.
The planet is heating up. Investors are watching. Customers are demanding action. Smart businesses aren’t waiting for permission—they’re making sustainability a competitive advantage.

📣How to Navigate the Noise:
  • Speak the Language of Business, Not Politics – Climate action = risk reduction, higher profits & better brand loyalty.
  • Ignore the Ignorance – Why companies doubling down on sustainability are outpacing those stuck in denial.
  • Make the Case Without the Controversy – How to frame decarbonization as strategy, not ideology.
  • The Reality Check – Climate denial won’t stop extreme weather, supply chain disruptions, or investor scrutiny.
The clear thinkers in the room know what’s at stake. This isn’t about political posturing and rhetoric—it’s about survival, profit, and winning the long game.
Smart businesses aren’t debating climate action. They’re cashing in on it. Will yours?

 Meet the Speakers:

Allan HS-46-1

Allan Merrill
CEO of Beazer Homes

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Jacob Atalla
VP, Sustainability Initiatives, KB Home

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Marshall Gobuty
Managing Partner, Pearl Homes

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Laura Kohler
Chief Sustainable Living Officer, Kohler

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Akshat Rathi
Senior reporter for climate, Bloomberg Green

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Reuven Carlysle
Founder, Earth Finance and Former Washington State Senator

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Will Sarni
Founder and General Partner, Water Foundry Ventures

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Sara Gutterman
CEO of Green Builder Media

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Matt Power
Editor-in-Chief, Green Builder Media

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Cynthia Adams
CEO and Founder, Pearl

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Trane Technologies
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