I only just heard of this. I am shocked and very sad. Malcolm was a person for whom I had the utmost respect, both for his technical abilities and his generosity. He will be missed.
Blog Post
The Green Building Community Has Lost One of Its Pillars
Our friend and mentor, Malcolm Lewis, has passed away
Malcolm Lewis will be sorely missed.Photo Credit: Harvey Mudd College
Malcolm Lewis, Ph.D., the founder of Constructive Technologies Group, a member of the EBN Advisory Board, and long a quiet leader in the green building movement, died on October 13th of bladder cancer.
I first got to know Malcolm when I served on the U.S. Green Building Council board of directors and observed his ability to craft consensus and find agreement on often-heated issues. He was the soft-spoken trouble-shooter on whom the board came to rely to get us out of trouble.
Along with serving on the USGBC’s board, Malcolm chaired the Council’s Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee (TSAC), which was charged with defusing tense issues, such as whether LEED should include a credit for avoiding PVC and how to factor in both ozone-depletion potential and global warming potential of refrigerants.
He took on these tasks with a skill and sensitivity that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. And I saw that work up close, since he tapped my colleague Nadav Malin for the PVC Task Force. Malcolm shepherded that process through contentious meetings—always with tact and respect for the views of others. (How much our politicians would have been able to learn from him!)
Malcolm grew Constructive Technologies Group into a firm of 30 engineers and other technical staff in two divisions, CTG Energetics and CTG Forensics. CTG Energetics handled LEED certifications for over 150 buildings—including many of the earliest. Under his leadership, CTG Energetics helped USGBC develop a scientific framework for distributing points among credits in LEED, created a LEED Volume certification program for the U.S. General Services Administration, developed a carbon accounting tool for California communities, and wrote the Reference Guide for ASHRAE Standard 189.1, among many other accomplishments. In December, 2011 he sold the company to The Cadmus Group, not long before being diagnosed with cancer.
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See membership options »My one chance to work directly with Malcolm on a project was in 2002 when we were part of a team that helped Stonyfield Yogurt come up with a strategy to reduce its carbon emissions. A handful of us spent an engaging two days crawling through the Stonyfield plant in New Hampshire identifying opportunities for savings—and there were many. It was a privilege to see Malcolm’s brilliant engineering skills tackle this challenge after seeing him in action on the more abstract issues of toxicity, ozone depletion, and group dynamics.
Malcolm will be sorely missed by all who knew and worked with him, and also by those who didn’t know him but nonetheless benefited from his often-anonymous efforts. Fortunately, we still have the fruits of his labors as the foundation on which we can continue to build a greener world.
Please share any thoughts you have on Malcolm and our loss.
Published October 16, 2012 Permalink Citation
(2012, October 16). The Green Building Community Has Lost One of Its Pillars. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/news-article/green-building-community-has-lost-one-its-pillars
Comments
Thank you Malcolm
What a warm gentle thougthful soul he was. Humble but willing to take on ambitious, challenging issues. I'll remember his grace, his smile (that picture is perfect), his calm energy and tireless efforts. He will remain an inspiration for me long beyond his passing.
More remembrances on the USGBC site
Scot Horst and Brendan Owens offer some wonderful tributes to Malcolm on the USGBC website: https://new.usgbc.org/articles/remembering-malcom-lewis-usgbc-board-memb...
Scroll down to read the comments.
An Inspiration
So true – we have lost a giant. I’ll never forget coming to realize the kind of impact Malcolm had on so many people. In 2002, Malcolm decided to step off the USGBC Board before his term ended so he could free up more time to chair that difficult TSAC committee that Alex describes.
After our regular Board meeting and dinner, we turned to celebrate his tenure. Malcolm offered a few graceful remarks as only he could. He no sooner sat down when the room erupted with one tribute after another – an hour or more of unbridled admiration for his intellect and professional contributions coupled with just as many stories about Malcolm the man, the friend, the mentor. It was an evening of laughter, warmth and not a few misty eyes.
What’s remarkable, as Ian Kline observes, is that Malcolm seemed to evoke this same kind of warmth and respect wherever he chose to spend his time. Rarely have I known someone so complete, so generous of spirit. I will miss him greatly --- and will join others in helping carry that torch. Christine
It hurts.....
Oh my friends, I am in pain.
I found out about this from an email. When I saw the subject line, I said, please, please, please. It can't be Malcolm.
Unfortunately it was.
I am crying.
He was such a wonderful, generous, thoughtful, inspirational engineer and leader. Committed to the cause of better performing buildings, healthier buildings, inspirational buildings. For the people who occupy them and the environment they reside in.
We need to carry on his torch. To so inspire those around us, to care for them and the next generations. Yes, we do it, but in his honor, in Ray Anderson's and in the many others that will come later, it really is time for us to step it up a few notches.
I spent this morning at the US Monument on Omaha Beach, honoring all our fellow Americans who died (and served) in the D-Day invasion and beyond. It was an amazingly clear reminder of how, united, we can overcome so many wrongs, and also how, as individuals, our passion for particular causes can provide clarity and direction to others on what needs to be done.
Malcolm was like that. Cognizant of the power of the unified, understanding of the need to provide inspirational direction.
And as it so clearly demonstrates the karma of the world, here is a quote, so fitting for Malcolm, that is engraved in the memorial:
'Think not only upon their passing, Remember the glory of their spirit'.
-k
Touching Tribute from President of Cadmus Group
The Cadmus Group has posted a wonderful message from Cadmus President Ian Kline with more details about Malcolm's professional career and personal touch.
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