The following represent a few highlights of Steven Baumgartner’s industry leadership through conference talks, blogs, white-papers and other collaboratives.

ULI Global Sustainability Outlook 2024

Contributor, January 2024

What sustainability topics and issues are on the rise, why do they matter, and what actions should the industry pursue moving forward?

Based on the knowledge shared by these experts, the Center, in collaboration with Ferguson Partners identified five issues that will shape real estate decision-making in the months ahead and beyond.

1. Linking sustainability performance and financial performance.

2. Going back to basics to advance decarbonization.

3. Complying with an evolving regulatory landscape.

4. Prioritizing resilience as extreme weather intensifies.

5. Approaching sustainability holistically.

Access the Report via ULI.org

ULI Outlook for Green Affordable Multifamily Housing

Contributor - June 6, 2022

What can speed the greening of affordable housing?

Members of ULI’s Sustainable Development Council and Affordable/Workforce Housing Council discuss sustainability strategies for affordable multifamily housing, the challenges and opportunities for net zero, other ambitious goals in affordable housing, and rising trends.

Read article in Urban Land.

“De-Infrastructuring” in the Era of the 15-Minute City

June 11, 2021

Steven provides an in-depth look at the 15-minute city concept and why “De-Infrastructuring” our cities will connect people to goods and services in a carbon-free and—Baumgartner would argue—more equitable way.

Read Steven’s article in UrbanLand, Urban Land Institute’s online magazine.

“De-Infrastructuring” Podcast

August, 2021

The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast by Latitude invited Steven on to discuss this article and learn more about his work, philosophies and foundations of BUSS.

Listen to the Podcast

Van Alen Council: Designing the City We Want, March 2021

At the end of Marc, 2021, Van Alen released the Council's inaugural publication—Designing the City We Want: Calls to Action in Response to COVID-19 —a collection of lessons that have emerged from this crisis and the Council's visions for the future.

Steven, through discussions with local leaders framed “A Pittsburgh Response”. To foster shared learning, he distils the successes of Pittsburgh’s COVID response - transparency, agility and a focus on equitable outcomes.

Read his all other council member submissions here.

Read more about the council here.

ULI Technical Advisory Panel Report

ENERGY, RESILIENCY & INNOVATION, City of Charlotte, July 17-21, 2020.

In the summer of 2020, Steven was a ULI Technical Advisory Panel member to support the development of a study for the City of Charlotte. The City of Charlotte’s Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP) creates the framework for the City of Charlotte to become a low carbon city by 2030 and for City buildings and equipment to be zero carbon by 2050. The City requested assistance through the ULI Technical Assistance Panel Program to investigate and refine the City’s desire to implement Resilience Innovation Districts (RIDs) as a policy tool for implementing the SEAP.

Panel Chair: Craig Lewis, Principal, Stantec

Additional Panel Members: Shelby Busó, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Atlanta; Janet Shull, AICP CUD, Strategic Advisor, City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development; Walker Wells, AICP, LEED AP, EcoDistricts AP, Principal | Rami + Associates.

ULI Project Staff: Theresa Salmen, Executive Director, ULI Charlotte and Laura Stroud, Contract Writer, McAdams Co.

See the write-up at ULI Charlotte website here and download the report here.

Watch Video here.

ULI Pittsburgh Sustainability Series - Resilience Panel

On Oct 2, 2020, Steven joined a panel assembled by ULI-Pittsburgh, in partnership with GreenPrint, as part of their “Sustainability Series: Climate Resilience from the City-Level to the Asset-Level”. This session was focused on resilience, namely climate adaptation as an important aspect of sustainability as real estate prepares for the climate risks we already face – whether it be storms and flooding or extreme heat.

The City of Pittsburgh is working on city-wide resilience programs, and real estate has a key role to play in scaling up protection from the asset to the community level. The session allowed attendees to join the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning and local private sector resilience experts to learn about the city’s ongoing resilience work and what real estate can do to prepare for climate risk. The event was structured as a webinar and a hallway chat with speakers afterward.

Speakers: Rebecca Kiernan: Principal Resilience Planner at City of Pittsburgh; Will Bernstein: Climate Advisor, American Cities Climate Challenge; Derrick L. Tillman Tillman, President and CEO, Bridging the Gap Development, LLC and Steven Baumgartner.

Collaborative Models to Scale Up Climate Action and Resiliency Efforts

Part 1: SCUP-54 Annual Conference, Seattle, July, 2019.

Part 2: 2020 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, Atlanta, February 2020.

An abbreviated presentation, focusing on the variety of collaborative climate models is available here.

Contributors: Aurora Sharrard (Pitt) and Beth McGrew and others on HECC, Dennis Carlberg (BU) on Boston Green Ribbon Commission, Wendel Brase (UC Irvine) on UC Systems and Ciannat Howett (Emory University) on Atlanta’s RCE.

Future With Food

EcoDistricts Summit, November 5, 2019

Watch recording of session here.

Contributors: Stacey Anderson, Van Alen Institute. Content from Van Alen Climate Council investigative trips and working sessions.

The Expanding Design Challenges of Climate Change.

Blog post from Investigative Trips from Van Alen Climate Council.

Posted on Van Alen Institute website, April 2019.   

Research Climate Nexus

Various industry presentations and blog posts. 

- World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities - Sept 2016 at MIT.  

- AASHE Conference & Expo—Oct 2016 in Baltimore

Contributors: Sarah Brylinsky, Sustainability Project Manager at Cornell University (and recently MIT); Stephanie Corbett, Director of Sustainability at Case Western Reserve University; Shana Weber, Director in the Office of Sustainability at Princeton University.

Linking Buildings' Energy Use to Tenant Contribution to Economy

Greenbuild 2013, Special Sets Program

Association of Energy Engineers (AEE's) World Energy Engineering Congress, ACEEE Summer Study, 2012.

Read FastCompany Article. here

Contributors: Jim Coleman, Amelia Aboff.