Areas of Expertise:

Climate Change, Demand Side Management, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Policy, Infrastructure, Innovation, Regulation, Smart Grid, Water

Additional Areas of Expertise:

Market Transformation, Waste, Circular Economy, Voluntary Standards

Rob Watson, LEED Fellow, is an international leader in market transformation toward sustainability whose expertise ranges from energy efficiency, utility demand side management, integrated resource planning and state and international energy policy to green buildings, sustainable urban mobility and zero waste management; he is best known as the “Founding Father of LEED.” Under Rob’s direction, LEED became the largest and fastest-growing international standard by which green buildings are measured. Author Thomas Friedman called Rob "one of the best environmental minds in America." In 2019, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine recognized Mr. Watson as one of the "25 Most Influential Alumni" in the College's 250-year history.rnrnAt the forefront of technical innovation across disciplines, Rob consults on a host of sustainability topics most salient for governments, corporations and academic institutions worldwide. In addition to Green buildings, his work in market transformation has led him to address solid waste as Chief Sustainability Officer of EcoHub LLC, an innovative developer of waste separation and processing complexes that can separate and transform 95% of the incoming waste stream into innovative 21st century materials, renewable, carbon neutral energy, high-nutrient fertilizer and pure drinking water. At EcoHub, Rob is responsible for technology and economic assessment, project development and business development. As part of his market transformation approach to solid waste, in 2016 Mr. Watson launched SWEEP, the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol, a comprehensive environmental performance standard for municipal solid waste programs and private companies in the solid waste industry. Rob has been recognized as an international Be Waste Wise Pioneer from 2016-2018.

Recent Comments by Rob Watson

• "The recent decision by the Court of Appeals to allow access of distributed energy storage facilities access to wholesale markets will be very influent"
  Electrification Nation: Buildings and Energy
• "I would first ask "what is the grid," or more precisely, "What is the grid we need for the 21st Century?" I would argue that the 21st century grid is "
  Electrification Nation: Buildings and Energy
• "I don't think that we will be able to safely scale the nuclear industry to make a significant dent in the mitigation of the impending climate crisis. "
  Nuclear Power Safety Risks