Who Are We?

Nigel Howard

Nigel has held influential positions in the US, UK and Australia and consults to a wide range of companies, governments and NGO’s.

In Australia, Nigel managed the Building Products Life Cycle Inventory project to establish a national consensus methodology and database of consistent LCA data for the building materials and products industries.  For the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Austalia, he developed the LCA based Materials Calculator and the Materials and Resources credits for the Infrastructure Sustainability IS rating tool.

Nigel’s principal objective in founding Clarity Environment is to complete and commercialise the ENVEST® suite of LCA/LCC based building design and operation tools.

He originates from the UK, where as Director of the Center for Sustainable Construction, Nigel completed the BRE environmental profiles methodology resulting from a 10 year long consultation with 24 building product sectors. From this basis he developed the UK Green Guides to Specification for Commercial buildings and Homes. He was responsible for the BREEAM98 building rating tools and pioneered the launch of ECOHomes. In prior roles he worked for Davis Langdon Consultants, for the Building Research Energy Conservation Support Unit, British Gas and the Greater London Council’s Scientific Branch.

Before coming to Australia Nigel was Vice President for the US Green Building Council, responsible for developing, implementing and establishing the suite of LEED building environmental rating systems from a single Commercial Buildings pilot. He was also responsible for establishing the LEED Accredited Professional training programs and credentials.
He has contributed internationally to IEA Annex 31 and ISO TC39 committees and was a founder member of the World Green Building Council promoting the establishment of Green Building Councils.  He was also a founder member of iiSBE collaborating internationally on the technical development of building rating tools.

He is concerned currently, that the successful promotion and uptake of building rating tools, ecolabelling and environmental product declarations has perhaps not been matched by the scientific and technical developments of environmental assessment and rating schemes. Perhaps the activity and expenditure on high profile Green projects is not delivering enough real environmental benefits to merit the awards?