WIESBADEN, Germany -- Rich Gifaldi is focused on "greening" Army and Air Force facilities in Europe and the Middle East.
Nearly five years ago, Gifaldi was selected as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District's first sustainable engineering program manager. Since then, he's ushered 39 green projects through the sustainable-design process. Two constructed in Germany earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, and 37 in Germany, Belgium, Romania and Turkey are on track to earn LEED certification in the near future.
As a result of these successes, Gifaldi captured the USACE Sustainability Hero Award this summer and is now competing nationally for the GreenGov Presidential Award in the same category.
According to the award citation, Gifaldi is a "sustainability champion and an agent of change" within USACE. He demonstrates outstanding performance in leading implementation of sustainable practices while reflecting a comprehensive approach to energy and environmental management through innovative strategies, practices and outreach.
Gifaldi said it felt good to be recognized, but winning an award is not what inspires him to do his job.
"For me, it's a sense of being sustainable and making the world a better place," he said. "It's saving the taxpayer money and contributing to overall good. That's what motivates me."
Since 2009, Gifaldi has advanced the understanding and adoption of LEED requirements outside the U.S., said Patricia Donohue, the USACE North Atlantic Division sustainable engineering program manager.
"He's made great strides in Europe, introducing LEED to European users," she said. "He is on the leading edge of what we do and where we need to be going."
Gifaldi also gained familiarity with German energy policies and requirements, and is consulted as a German energy expert by colleagues and partners, said Jim Noble, the district's Engineering Branch chief.
"He's the guy to have here. He looked at the situation in Europe, specifically Germany, and the standards that apply," Noble said. "He took it upon himself to put together a comparison study of the German and U.S. systems. Turns out, it really isn't apples to apples. We are using both systems now."
Gifaldi is the only Europe District employee credentialed as a Certified Energy Manager, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, and DGNB System International Consultant, Noble said.
DGNB is the German equivalent to LEED, and is an acceptable overseas green building rating system per Army policy.
"He is wearing multiple sustainability hats, and he makes it look so easy," Noble said. "He is looking at all of our LEED projects and making sure they are being tracked and loaded into the system."
In 2012, Europe District was awarded the Corps' first international LEED Silver-certified project -- U.S. Army Europe's headquarters building on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden. Gifaldi guided the 285,000-square-foot Gen. Shalikashvili Mission Command Center project through the certification process.
"One of my proudest moments was when we achieved LEED for the Shali Center," he said. "More people have become aware of challenges to implementing U.S. sustainability policies overseas and the effort required to make it happen. A lot of people, even within the district, thought that it couldn't be done."
USACE partners outside Europe District's area of responsibility also benefit from Gifaldi's expertise. He lent USACE Middle East District LEED design support for three U.S. Navy projects in Bahrain. One of the projects, a naval support facility, earned the first LEED certification for new construction in the country.
During the design and construction of these projects Gifaldi resolved issues, reviewed LEED credit documentation, and provided customer and designer instruction, Donohue said.
"His depth of experience and effective communication are invaluable as he relays lessons learned from U.S. and overseas projects," she said.
Another sustainable initiative Gifaldi supports is the Army's net-zero strategy. The service has set a goal of net-zero energy consumption by 2030, meaning installations will produce as much energy on site as they consume, according to Army officials. Gifaldi teamed with the district's Planning Section to provide garrisons and other partners net-zero planning, technical support, facility audits and strategies for implementation.
He managed two in-house studies for Army installations and provided technical oversight for nine additional assessments, including a net-zero study for Sembach Kaserne at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz. Sembach's Net Zero Energy Installation Plan -- developed with input from the USACE team -- received the 2012 Outstanding Sustainable Planning, Design, or Development Initiative Award from the American Planning Association.
Net zero is a hot topic in the military right now, especially in Europe, where there is a strong focus on energy consumption and cost, Gifaldi said.
"It was awesome the way net zero came together here," he said. "The Engineering and Planning sections came together to conduct energy and water audits-- that is something people are, and should be, excited about.
"In the coming year, we have four or five installations in three different countries that want to start or continue their own studies. They are coming to us."
The district's net-zero project delivery team, with Gifaldi at the helm, developed a transferable process that can be used throughout USACE. The district's former Chief of Planning, Phil Cohen, was also instrumental in the process development, Noble said.
"They turned their process into a generic process that can be used by other districts," he said. "Not only is Rich doing work for us, but for all of USACE."
Gifaldi also aided colleagues across North Atlantic Division in understanding passive solar construction. He shared his experience from a Passivhaus project Europe District completed in Ansbach.
He is always building and transferring sustainability knowledge within USACE, Donohue said.
"Our regional teams receive his subject-matter expertise and support in LEED, solar thermal and sustainability via extensive lessons learned and value-added solutions," she said.
Beyond the workplace, Gifaldi is involved in cultivating the next generation of engineers and sustainability professionals. During Engineers Week and Earth Day, he speaks at local Department of Defense Dependents Schools and conducts classroom lessons on solar design, energy conservation and sustainability.
With four kids of his own, Gifaldi is in the habit of relating math and science concepts to practical engineering applications.
"I'm not trying to make everyone an engineer, but I am trying to get them excited about learning," he said. "Even those who don't want to be engineers will be more interested in their school work if I tie algebra into a real-world application. They'll say, 'I learned this from the dude in the ponytail who came in and taught me for an hour.' It means something to them. It will motivate them to dig deeper into the subject."
Students are energized and enthused when Gifaldi visits the classroom, Noble said.
"Rich is the kind of person that makes engineering look fun -- as opposed to just a bunch of numbers and formulas," he said. "That's what's attractive to the young people when they see him at the schools. They measure and calculate how many photovoltaic cells they need on a building in a certain climate zone -- that's what he gets them thinking about. He makes it look fun and easy."
To attract and train the workforce of tomorrow, USACE employees conduct science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, outreach at Department of Defense schools worldwide.
It's important for USACE employees to reach out to students and help them recognize their interests and abilities, Gifaldi said.
"I'm an engineer today -- but in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do," he said. "I thought I wanted to be a Spanish teacher. It took some life experience in the Army for me to figure out I wanted to be an engineer."
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