The Future Is Green: Roger Limoges Of Global Network for Zero On Their Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet
Aswe face an unprecedented environmental crisis, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. This series seeks to spotlight the innovative minds and passionate advocates who are leading the charge in environmental conservation and sustainable practices. We aim to explore the most effective strategies, breakthrough technologies, and transformative policies that are shaping a more sustainable future for our planet. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Roger Limoges.
Roger is a Washington DC based seasoned executive leader with over 25 years of proven success in advocacy, message development, strategic and executive communications and movement building.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Istarted my career in issue advocacy at the intersection of one of the most controversial and politically charged topics in the United States — religion and politics. After getting my bachelor’s degree from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, I moved to D.C. for graduate school at GW (George Washington University) to study political management which included issue advocacy, campaign management, message development, speechwriting, polling, and voter persuasion. My first full-time job in DC was with an organization called The Interfaith Alliance which was founded to oppose the political group then known as The Christian Coalition. As the organization evolved and became more sophisticated, it addressed the separation of church and state, weighed in on critical federal legislation and political nominations, and delved further into issues such as education, LGBTQ rights, campaign finance reform, and federal funding of religious programming.
I’d grown up in a Catholic family but I wasn’t especially devout. In fact, I had a lot of questions. Why was it that religion was always being weaponized to strip rights from minorities or those with differing viewpoints? Why was religion cited as the justification for exerting control over the bodily autonomy of others? Why was religion being deployed to justify limiting the freedoms that our Constitution was designed to enshrine?
It can be difficult to acknowledge that organized religion is often at the root of a lot of our nation’s problems. But the truth is, I have always wanted to be one of the problem solvers. I have always wanted to seek out the challenges that were the most divisive, that were labeled as politicized, but that at their core were human rights issues, and work inward to find common ground with people.
My time in the First Amendment space helped me do just that. I was able to answer some of my questions and further explore our long history of using religion to undermine some of our most basic rights, including a woman’s right to choose. And I was able to dig deeper into how, while working to ensure the proper separation of church and state, we could meet people where they are, and then work to change hearts and minds.
The one thing I’d say about my backstory is that in those early days of my passion for issue advocacy, I didn’t anticipate the dramatic increase in weaponized misinformation that has further emboldened the religious extremists we are facing today. Whether it’s climate justice, reproductive justice, freedom of speech, or access to clean air and water, the combination of religion and misinformation to undermine the quality of life for others just makes me want to work that much harder. If I could go back in time, I’d probably add two questions to my earlier list: Why is religion often at the heart of a scarcity mindset? How can we prove to the extremists that recognizing the rights of one person does not mean we are removing the rights of another?
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
During my time as Director of Public Policy for Catholics for Choice, I traveled across America meeting with Catholic pro-choice female state lawmakers who were being targeted for their positions on the issue of abortion. Over the years I was able to establish trust within these extraordinary communities of women, and together we were able to establish a nationwide support network of their peers. Our collaboration helped bridge gaps between lawmakers and build a robust consensus around the full spectrum of needs for reproductive health. And during the process, I was able to see firsthand what I have always known — that when it comes to forward progress in this country, women continue to be the mainstay and the unwavering backbone for meaningful transformation.
Speaking of progress, my time working in Haiti taught me something else on that front, which is that progress moves at the speed of trust. During my tenure at the U.S. Green Building Council, in addition to being a senior vice president, I was a project manager for the design and construction of a LEED Platinum children’s center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haitians have a well-placed distrust in Americans who, for too long, have arrived, promised to help, and left before the job was done. However throughout 47 visits to the project, I was proud to have developed a level of trust with members of the community who were, at last, able to see that we were in this partnership for the long haul.
What I would also add about this experience is that the Haitian organizations that we were working with changed our approach to project management more than we changed theirs — and for that, I am eternally grateful. Sometimes in life, I think what we want to prescribe to people to fix a problem isn’t going to address the root of the challenge at hand. You only can understand the challenge by listening first and not rushing to a solution. The people of Haiti were so pre-conditioned to disappointment, to the promise of humanitarian efforts that were short-lived and left little in the realm of lasting change, that by the time we got there, everything for them understandably felt fleeting and transactional. And who could blame them? But working to earn their respect — to earn the moment where they could expect us to follow through — was and is to this day one of the great honors of my life.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example?
This is a great question and my answer is integrity, authenticity, and the ability to genuinely hear people. My story here is also tied to my LEED Platinum building experience in Haiti — especially because these three traits are interconnected. Listening, truly listening, fosters more authentic relationships and sets the tone for maintaining the integrity of our work and our partnerships. In the LEED Platinum project in Haiti, we made the assumption early on that societal norms from the U.S. would apply in our workflow — which is to say that at first, instead of listening, we spoke. In retrospect, Haiti has an entirely different culture and approach to these kinds of projects and its own unique challenges with infrastructure and governance. If we had come in with an attitude that first and foremost we were there to learn from the people we were working with about what they needed and how they wanted to work, we could have found success faster. I am thrilled with the final result and the beautiful monumental building that stands today, and that is home to malnourished and HIV + children who are on their pathway to health and wellness, but I’m also indebted to them for a lesson I’ve been able to successfully apply in countless projects since.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Absolutely. At the end of the day, the biggest hurdle we are seeing is that traditionally the net zero landscape has just had too many barriers to entry. Our mission at the Global Network for Zero is to eliminate emissions by eliminating barriers — including access to quality ROI data, finding capital, creating incremental processes, and more. We always say that we’re bringing net zero within reach for all — and that really is the case. What I’m most excited about at the moment is our GNFZ Existing Building certification. So often, well-intentioned people want to pursue net zero certification, but they don’t know where to begin and in addition to that, they are intimidated by the path to reducing their Scope 3 emissions.
Our network has several differentiators, but two are particularly valuable when it comes to existing building certification. Our incremental approach means you can start anywhere and end at zero — which is to say you have an affordable and accessible path to accelerating your net zero journey. And in addition to this, we are also the only net zero certification body in the world that offers a Scope 3-centric solution, meaning we provide a path to tackling the most challenging category head-on and in an affordable manner.
The reason it’s so important to mention this piece is that we aren’t going to truly be able to help people without focusing on Scope 3 emissions. Right here in the U.S., emissions need to fall at three times the rate they are falling now if we are going to meet the Paris Agreement targets. And to do that, we have to provide people with emissions reduction and elimination certification strategies that tackle the whole value chain. The world has had enough of just Scope 1 and 2 focused solutions — and look where we are. The warmest years on record. The most extreme weather events from man-made warming. And still, only 0.023% of the world’s buildings are net zero — and even those are just net zero energy and don’t include Scope 3 calculations. We can and must do more, and that’s what we are doing at GNFZ.
Coming down the pike for us this year is also our net zero business certification which will empower more organizations to implement and accelerate their net zero plans affordably across operations.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What pivotal moment led you to dedicate your career to sustainability, and how has that shaped your approach to environmental challenges?
Relationships in politics are tremendously important, and when I was looking toward the next step of my career after my stint in the reproductive health space, environmental issues piqued my interest. While I hadn’t heard much about the LEED rating system before I joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), I was aware of some of the important issues they were working on. Many of the Catholic state lawmakers I had worked closely with for years were some of my fiercest advocates. They encouraged me to take the jump into the green building space, and I believe that was because so many of these women also worked closely on environmental policy.
That layered advocacy work that they excelled in — the ability to make tangible change in more than one arena — inspired me to take a look at the overlap in each issue and to find where the commonalities in the work could further inform the lessons I took forward in the next part of my career.
I think about this even today — especially when you look at the political landscape around both climate and reproductive healthcare. There is tremendous overlap in the fights for climate and reproductive justice. Until the Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, there had been fifty years of women believing they would always have safe access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care and that their rights to bodily autonomy would be codified as the law of the land. Now that the court has overturned that right, we are seeing more and more activism to make sure that this access is not further restricted. With climate policy and the efforts to tackle the challenges of a warming planet, we’re all coming to terms with the reality that siloed solutions for sustainable development goals don’t work. Part of fighting for a sustainable world is eliminating gender-based violence and gender inequality, codifying universal human rights and in particular those that are often denied to women, and ensuring girls and women have access to reproductive health services. These are all now officially part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and as such, are playing a larger role in public and private sector collaborations for pursuing ESG strategies and net zero certifications. The bottom line is that climate change is already disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable among us — and in many countries around the world, the most vulnerable populations are women and minorities. Sustainability advocacy and direct action by all of us is the only way to ensure that future generations will have equitable access to a livable and healthy planet. Just as we have done in the reproductive justice space, we must continue leveraging education, data, and individualized strategic messaging to meet people where they are and to incentivize the communities in which we are working.
Could you describe a groundbreaking project or initiative you’ve been involved in that significantly contributed to sustainability?
The launch of Global Network for Zero’s net zero certification for existing buildings last year immediately comes to mind. The built environment is responsible for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and existing buildings face more barriers to decarbonization than new construction projects. To further affirm what I’ve been saying here, and to be as clear as I possibly can be: A net zero world is not possible without the accelerated decarbonization of the built environment. While many building owners and operators recognize this, our team is seeing firsthand the impacts of a number of challenges. First, there is no concrete definition of net zero. So many people want a unified definition of a net zero building and they deserve that. But so far, the clear, solidified prerequisites have remained elusive. GNFZ was asked to provide a public comment informing the White House’s National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building and we continue to advocate for the establishment of a detailed, cross-sector definition that includes Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Second, regulatory bodies are abrogating their duties to the public and private sector collaborators we need to meet our net zero goals. Ignoring Scope 3 in your mandates is undermining the entire emissions reduction and elimination process necessary to avert an existential crisis on a scale we’ve never before witnessed. While we didn’t succeed in our pressure on the SEC vote last month, we are working tirelessly to advocate for mandates to remain front and center in accelerating this work. Third, the market is saturated with a multitude of certifications and standards that are confusing. Based on the world-renowned GHG Protocol, our process is truly democratizing decarbonization. Our certification is an incremental roadmap to realistically reach net zero over time, and we walk hand in hand with partners and clients to ensure their success.
How do you navigate the balance between economic growth and environmental preservation in your sustainability strategies?
At Global Network for Zero, we believe that you don’t need to choose between economic growth and environmental preservation. They go hand in hand. Take the built environment for example, as a building owner, decarbonizing your building makes it an attractive asset for investors, lowers your energy bills, improves the health of building occupants, and more. Additionally, as severe weather events become a more frequent occurrence, improving building resilience not only mitigates operation and maintenance costs but also minimizes the risk that a building will be taken “offline” in the event of a weather emergency.
At the end of the day, we get this question all the time. Can people, planet, and profit work in tandem and not in spite of one another? And the answer is yes. Especially if you have a certification process and set of strategies like ours — where the focus remains on ROI data and ensuring a person or organization has all the measurements and real-time information to make the economic case to their stakeholders.
Our CEO often says that the balanced approach the world needs is already here — and that it is rooted in our collective ability to employ elusive Scope 3 solutions. Meaning, as he says, “The balanced approach is a Scope-3 centric one.” He cites India as an example and I have to agree. Over 75% of the India envisioned for 2050 has yet to be built — and developing the infrastructure for that will exponentially increase emissions across sectors. This means that Scope 3 emissions elimination there needs to be that much more robust. It also means that in the next few years, India’s accelerated built environment will need a concurrent Scope 3 mitigation strategy that does several things. It will provide real-time performance data, and as such will enable the growth India deserves as a leading global economic force, all while accelerating the rate of removal of the biggest category of harmful emissions.
So when companies in India keep Scope 3 front and center and they do all this, they are decarbonizing across value chains in the most effective and cost-efficient way, and because they are tackling that beast from the get-go, they are also performing a balancing act most have previously fallen short on. They are finally valuing Scope 3 solutions in the same breath as Scope 1 and 2, and as such, they are protecting the resilience of their building or business, protecting the short and long-term economic gains, and ensuring their emissions are eliminated in perpetuity. This is what GNFZ is helping organizations do in India and it’s what we are replicating at scale in other parts of the globe — all to secure the net zero acceleration and transformation the world deserves.
What emerging technologies or innovations do you believe hold the most promise for advancing sustainability and why?
I am continually amazed by the advancements underway in the proptech space — and particularly the innovations around optimizing energy usage in buildings. There are great smart building management tools that improve energy performance and emissions from building operations, and now we’re seeing just how well they can optimize heating and cooling systems and monitor overall building health. This is yielding some great results, including the early detection of potentially costly issues.
I think any time you have tech that provides affordability and accessibility to net zero implementation that has previously remained out of reach, you’re moving in the right direction. This is probably a topic for an entirely other interview, but the technological strides being made in the net zero water space are pretty extraordinary — especially with leak detection and water conservation and management. I believe that with the water crises facing communities around the globe, these innovations will likely prove to be some of the most profound in our lifetime. So whenever we can implement tools that conserve, recycle, and reuse our most precious resource, we are getting ahead of another critical existential challenge.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet”?
First, we need to involve more people in conversations about sustainability. For too long, vulnerable communities that are paying a higher price for climate inaction have had no say in how plans are created and implemented.
Second, examine your footprint. How do you get to work? Can you take public transportation? Do you turn the lights off when you leave a room? Do you try to reuse and repurpose when possible? Too often, people think that their actions are too small to make a difference. That could not be further from the truth. A collection of small actions from people all around the world can create something big.
Third, stay hopeful! It is easy to look around at the news and feel like we are out of time, and that progress cannot be made. While there is undoubtedly work to do, and there are huge challenges at hand, I remain inspired by people all over the world who have dedicated their lives to advancing clean energy solutions.
Fourth, we are in an important election year and climate is certainly on the ballot. I urge people to look at who is running in their area. From city council members up to the White House, our leaders have a substantial impact on our response to climate change. When possible, support candidates who recognize what is at stake and are committed to treating climate change for what it is, an enormous threat to our planet and humanity at large.
Finally, use your voice as a consumer to signal to companies that positions on climate change matter. Support organizations that have actionable net zero commitments and recognize their role in the problem.
In your view, what are the key steps individuals, communities, and governments need to take to achieve a more sustainable future?
Of course, because I work in advocacy, I am not going to let governments or regulatory agencies off the hook. We all recognize the roles that we can take within our communities, but proportionality with footprints is a big part of all of this. My using a paper straw (I do not like them) isn’t going to offset the footprint of a global company like Amazon. And while some corporations are proactive and moving the needle on their own, most need the guidance I’ve already talked about here: they need a clear definition of net zero and they need mandates to follow.
It is past time for governments to step up and make the hard choices necessary to avert a climate catastrophe. Too often, we see our leaders burying their heads in the sand, afraid to do what it takes to drive lasting change. That being said, there are certainly leaders who are taking a bold stance and working hard to do right by their constituents and the environment. Take the Biden-Harris administration’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, or the National Climate Resilience Framework, which has nationally comprehensive, locally-tailored, and community-driven initiatives within it, or even Local Law 97 (LL97) in New York, which went into effect earlier this year. LL97 sets energy efficiency requirements to help New York City reach its goal of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by 2030. These are all good signs, but we need more.
To reach our targets, what I’d like to see is an acknowledgment of that proportionality piece. The individuals in the community around a large office building complex should be protected by the regulations and policies put in place to ensure that the building doesn’t undermine their right to cleaner air, water, and living standards. That responsibility lies with leaders in the public and private sectors, not with the person who is often in a vulnerable community and simply on the receiving end of a corporation’s actions. In other words, we need an all-of-government approach, with the private sector, NGOs, and government agencies partnering together and harnessing their collective power and resources to get the job done.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
As I said, I would not describe myself as a strong Catholic, but I would describe myself as someone who believes that the role of religion and public policy could be incredibly positive if we focused on helping communities to meet their needs and working together to ensure a world that is equitable, resilient, and restorative without any strings attached. In that same vein, I would like to start a movement that works to connect people centered on the values and common experiences that make us human — and that reinforces the philosophy that we are far more similar than we are different.
Every day I see how we are drawing harder and harder lines in the sand and losing empathy. Toxicity in conversations is at an all-time high and people are quick to enter conversations with pre-determined judgments and position themselves as unable to move. Part of this is because we’ve become a culture that, in many ways, conflates the act of changing your mind with inconsistency and unreliability, and that often indicts rather than lauds you for evolving your beliefs and behaviors. And I think another part of it is that it’s easier to participate in the business of outrage than it is in the transformative, but tedious task of optimism. Complaining, blaming, and spending all our time talking about a problem instead of focusing on actionable solutions has created a culture of faux advocacy and activism — and for what? People are afraid of everything. They are afraid to go home for the holidays because they fear hurtful comments. They are afraid to share who they vote for out of fear they will be judged or deemed uneducated. They are afraid of personal or global discourse because the conversation always seems to start with what’s different about us rather than what is the same. And too often, it’s moving us further and further away from the desire to meaningfully connect with others and from the universal traits that make us all human.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
You can learn more about the Global Network for Zero at https://www.globalnetworkforzero.com/ and find me on LinkedIn.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.