Kenneth Langer is founder and CEO of Environmental Market Solutions, Inc.
(EMSI), an international consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C.,
Springfield, MO, Beijing, and Shanghai. EMSI is currently active in six
countries in North America, Europe and Asia, and is best recognized for having
pioneered the green building industry in China.
With nearly 100 projects covering more than 20 million square feet in
construction area, EMSI is one of the top international consulting firms
specializing in the design of green buildings and sustainable communities.
EMSI's clients consist mainly of Fortune 500 and transnations companies,
including Caterpillar, Coca Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, DOW, DuPont, GE, HSBC
Bank, Interface, Johnson Controls, L'Oreal, Otis Elevator, Plantronics,
Siemens, and Trane.
EMSI is also the only international green building company under contract for
both the 2008 Beijng Olympic Games and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. The
Company's projects include China's first LEED certified office building,
China's first LEED certified mall, China?s first LEED certified factory and
office complex, and, China's first LEED certified showroom.
EMSI's singular accomplishments have made Ken a highly sought keynote speaker
at conferences and seminars sponsored by McGraw Hill Construction, the American
Chamber of Commerce, CoreNet, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Ken has been interviewed by Phoenix Satellite TV, which broadcasts throughout
Asia, and is regularly quoted in international print media.
Prior to founding EMSI, Ken held various senior management positions in energy
and environmental consulting firms in the Washington, D.C. area. His clients
included The White House, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Agency
for International Development.
Ken is currently Vice Chair of the National Capital Region Chapter of the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC-NCR), a former Board Member of the Sustainable
Buildings Industries Council (SBIC), and a Founding Member of the Shanghai
Green Building Council (SGBC). He has been a Fellow of Johns Hopkins
University and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1978.
Ken regularly speaks on topics that reflect his personal experience in
pioneering the green building industry in China. He also engages audiences by
presenting innovative ideas and approaches that Fortune 500 companies can use
to build corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability programs. For
example, in his "Better Buildings, Better Companies' speech, Ken shows that it
is possible to select LEED strategies that support the larger, overarching
goals of your company.
Three of Ken's most popular presentations are:
Succeeding in China:
Succeeding in China requires a different set of skills, an understanding of the
culture, and a willingness to grapple with some tough ethical issues. In this
speech, Ken gives examples from his own experience of how to succeed in
marketing and negotiating deals with Chinese clients and concludes with Ten
Keys to Success.
Bringing LEED to China:
In this speech, Ken shares his personal experience in pioneering the Green
Building industry in China. He talks about who is building green, what is
driving the market, the role of LEED (the U.S. Green Building Council's
official rating system), and, through graphs, how the movement has grown from a
few projects to a real industry. Ken ends by projecting future market trends
and identifying strategies for success. This presentation is valuable to real
estate developers, and multinational companies with sizable real estate
portfolios and/or leases in China.
Better Buildings, Better Companies: A New Approach to Selecting LEED Credits:
Real estate developers and corporations pursuing LEED certification typically
select strategies based on first cost or life-cycle cost savings. In this
presentation, Ken proposes a new approach, where green strategies are selected
based on how well they support the company's overarching corporate objectives.
This presentation is valuable for all companies that are developing green
building strategies for their regional or international real estate
portfolio.
Greening Your Supply Chain:
Major callbacks of toys, toothpastes, and other items sourced from China are
forcing manufactures to develop new approaches to ensure that their products
are safe and do not contain toxic materials. In addition, customers are
increasingly demanding that products be manufactured in ways that reduce energy
and other environmental impacts. Ken shows how green buildings contribute to a
company's CSR program, and it discusses low-risk ways to help suppliers manage
the costs associated with greening their factories. This presentation is
valuable to manufacturers that use Chinese suppliers.
