Nekisha McGill
CSDP
HDR, INC | Federal Sustainability Compliance Lead
Speaker
Track A: FED Energy
Session A3: Energy Security
September 27, 2024 | 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Federal Sustainability Strategy Development
As sustainability and resiliency planning continues to become more prevalent in the private sector, many federal entities are finding that implementing sustainable practices by reducing consumption of limited resources with fewer environmental, social, and resilience-based consequences is essential. The world of federal sustainability planning, particularly concerning the Department of Defense, can be an arduous process given the number of drivers such as federal laws, executive orders, and service level policies that must be considered when developing sustainability strategies. This presentation walks through key drivers and pin-points definitive metrics that influence federal planning. Additionally, this presentation will explore how to shape development of a sustainability strategy given the impact of various levels of guidance while keeping the mission of the organization at the forefront. Key takeaways include defining an organization’s “Lines of Operation”, setting goals that align with the “Lines of Operation”, understating the baseline and identifying sustainable actions that progress a federal organization towards a sustainable future.
Speaker Bio
Nekisha McGill is an accomplished sustainability leader with more than two decades of experience in climate resilience planning and sustainable design for the Department of Defense. She has a strong background in sustainable strategy development, Federal asset management, project management and energy program management. Her career started at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in climate resiliency through the lens of water resources planning with a focus on ecosystem restoration and flood risk management working with clients at the Federal, State and local levels. She transitioned to the Federal Asset Management sector where she managed facility master planning, transportation planning and energy planning programs for clients such as the Army, Air Force, Customs and Boarder Protection, and the Marine Forces Reserves.
Since joining HDR, Inc, Nekisha served as the Energy and Sustainability manager for the Marine Force Reserves where she oversaw the implementation of mission-aligned initiatives that consistently exceeded resilience and efficiency goals. She now serves as the Federal Sustainable Compliance Lead where she leads company-wide strategy ensuring our design teams are resourced to interpret and filter policies and guidelines for high-performance sustainable buildings.
