Tag Archives: david gottfried

What’s your morning ritual?

We’re a bit nuts in the Gottfried household in the morning, which doesn’t surprise many who know me or my wife, also known as Dr. Sara. She’s a doctor who practices functional medicine and a three time New York Times bestselling health author. And as you likely know, I’m a green building nerd, obsessed with not only LEED Platinum buildings, but those that have gone deeper into regeneration of energy, water, and our health.

How we wake up each morning has lasting impact. Do you race out of bed to the kitchen to get your morning caffeine, or do you meditate quietly for 30 minutes as you calm your sympathetic nervous system and lower your cortisol? Do you take the time to eat a nutritious breakfast, or consciously skip it as you rush out the door? And what measurements or supplementation, if any, do you perform or take each morning?

This blog shares the quirky inside scoop of our morning rituals – mostly health based, that help set us up for a fabulous day of energy, mental acuity, and athleticism. Most of them I like, a few are tolerable and one I hate… Continue reading

Episode 45 Sander Paul van Tongeren

I’ve long believed that if you want to boost global sustainability, then work on greening real estate – our buildings and homes. The impact is vast in terms of energy, water and materials consumption, and health of occupants and the planet.

GRESB is a nonprofit based in Amsterdam [and is a subsidiary of the GBCI] and is having huge success with its benchmark tool in assessing some of the world’s largest real estate portfolios. The membership organization has participants from 60 countries, including some of the world and US’s biggest pension fund investors, such as CALPERS.

Join me in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show where I interview GRESB’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Sander Paul van Tongeren. We learn more about GRESB and its enormous initiative, organizational details, and annual growth, as well as what drives Sander Paul.

To the greening of real estate portfolios while boosting profit!

David

Episode 44 Joel Makower

How we define a life well lived? It helps to interview someone who’s been at it for four decades and found their sweet spot for contribution and joy.

In this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show we hear from Joel Makower, the Chairman and Executive Editor of GreenBiz Group. They’re the producer of the VERGE conference and also GreenBiz forums and the State of Green Business report. Joel is a journalist by training and loves the convergence of sustainability with technology and innovation.

We discuss some of Joel’s insight into green business successes and his thoughts on the future, as well as reflecting on his active career and legacy.

To the greening of business!

David

Episode 39 John Mandyck

More than ever we need organizations to step up their environmental commitments and stewardship. This requires extensive goal setting, research, improvement and measurement, and verification. Though some believe environmental performance hurts business, many are finding it can actually boost the profitability, stock performance, and brand.

I remember when we founded the U.S. Green Building Council and our LEED Green Building Rating System back in the early 90s, some of our board members only wanted us to work with activist NGOs and avoid large corporations at our table. They were leery of the heavy hand of business and that they’d try to control our nascent non-profit and extinguish our lofty goals.

Well, thankfully we didn’t adhere to that call and remained open to both sides to join us. One of the world’s biggest corporations actually turned out to support us the most of almost any other. United Technologies [known as UTC] not only contributed Rick Fedrizzi, our founding Chairman, and long-term CEO but provided decades of voluntary assistance, financial contributions, and advancement of our professionalism and credibility into the marketplace.

Today’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show features an interview with UTC’s Chief Sustainability Officer, John Mandyck. John also chairs the Corporate Advisory Board for the World Green Building Council, which I founded in 2002. John and I spent interesting times together as we worked to help foster the formation and growth of the China, Russia and India Green Building Councils.

In our conversation, John informs us about UTC’s significant emphasis on the importance and benefit of adopting a deep sustainability program. UTC is not only a global leader in aerospace, food refrigeration, and commercial buildings but also environmental ingenuity and performance. We learn about UTC’s sponsorship of a fascinating indoor air quality research project with Harvard University and John’s book Food Foolish.

To corporations stepping it up to helping us sustain and prosper!

David Gottfried

Episode 38 Ben Greenfield

Have you ever thought about the impact of artificial light on your circadian rhythm, checked your ability to achieve high-performance activity through heart rate variability [HRV], or checked your poop or DNA to figure out how to eat?

Under the guidance [sometimes I call it other things] of my wife, Dr. Sara, I’ve not only been subjected to these tests, but now prick my finger daily to see if I’ll survive the day, and only if my sleep score is above 100% and my RHR [resting heart rate] is in the zone. And boy was my poop test revealing… not to mention by 23andme.

Tuning our bodies to perform and sustain a healthy life balance is hard for most of us. There’s so much written that it’s confusing how to approach diet, exercise and even sleep. Even figuring out what’s required for basic daily health is hard to navigate: what to eat, how much exercise, stress management, daily priorities.

In this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show Ben Greenfield provides us with a fresh and clear perspective to health. He’s part uberhealth coach, biohacker, scientist and ancestral forager. Even learning how Ben spends his day is intriguing and provides unique guidance.

Ben Greenfield is known as one of the world’s foremost health coaches and fitness experts. He has masters degrees in exercise physiology and biomechanics, has written numerous bestselling books including Beyond Training, has a popular podcast show and has competed in races and events for 25 years, including a top triathlete and bodybuilder.

To living a limitless life!

To learn more about Ben – check out http://www.BenGreenfieldFitness.com and http://www.GreenfieldFitnessSystems.com. Enjoy!

Episode 36 Dr. Pedram Shojai

Daily life for most of us is chaotic. Emails, text, cell phones have only made it worse, creating few boundaries for quiet time.

Time itself is one of the scarcest of commodities. And personal health for many is lacking.

How do we catch ourselves and push the reset button? It requires the patience, skills, and discipline of a monk.

Enter Dr. Pedram Shojai, OMD. He’s an extremely rare combination of East meets West: trained as an ordained priest from the lineage of the Golden Dragon Temple, movie producer, bestselling author, podcast host, qigong and herbalist master, doctor of oriental medicine and founder of Well.org.

I’m thrilled for you to meet my good friend and colleague Dr. Pedram Shojai in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show. Join me in learning about Pedram’s newest book, The Urban Monk, where we’ll hear about modern hacks to stop time, find success, happiness, and peace!

To adding more monk to our urban lives!

David Gottfried

Episode 35 Dr. Mark Manary

What’s a life of passion, purpose, and mission? And how do you create a lasting legacy?

This is tied to defining a life well lived.

These are three essentials that occupy my mind late at night and when I push my ego and desire to provide for my family and our future aside.

On my death bed, I’ll probably be reflecting upon and cherishing the love of my family and dog. Then I’ll ruminate about the work I’ve accomplished and measure its impact. I’ll wonder if my life made a difference and planted seeds for change after I’m gone.

Dr. Mark Manary has dedicated his life to rescuing malnourished kids from death. For the past two decades, he’s helped invent a solution to healing impoverished children at the most critical developmental stage of their lives. It’s called RUTF – Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods.

Could you imagine helping save 1 million lives? Well, that’s what Dr. Manary has helped achieve. It’s unbelievable to fathom his contribution and his story inspires us to reach higher.

I’m thrilled for you to meet Dr. Mark Manary in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show. Join me in learning about the organization he founded called Project Peanut Butter. You’ll be inspired, as I was, by his unprecedented contribution and humility. Dr. Manary has much to teach us about how to be of service, give back and push ego aside for the greater good.

To saving lives together!

David

Episode 34 Jason Pearson

Shopping is fun and purchasing is part of our everyday lives. For major corporations, it’s big business, both on the purchasing and supply sides.

However, if we add up the overall environmental and health impacts of what we buy, it’s monumental. If we’re going to turn the Earth towards more sustainable, it’s imperative that we focus our lens on purchasing. Big companies have entire purchasing departments and some of them are now shifting how they analyze and track purchasing decisions. If they shift their purchasing to embrace attributes of energy and materials efficiency and health impact, huge environmental and economic gains can be achieved and risks lessened.

Since 2013, a new nonprofit organization has been organizing and growing to provide guidance in the field of purchasing. It’s called the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council [SPLC] and many of its members include some of the largest companies in the world.

I’m excited for you to meet Jason Pearson, the President of the SPLC in this week’s Regen360 iTunes podcast show. Join me in learning about the SPLC’s organizational history, its new purchasing benchmark, and other best practices. A huge part of our Regen360 show is revealing the steps that organizations take to not only start-up but how they grow and sustain for the long haul. We exist to help triple-bottom-line organizations to learn from each other as they form and endure.

To lessening the environmental impact of our purchasing decisions!

David