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Arup Welcomes Swett as Director of Cities and Sustainable Real Estate

Brian Swett

Brian Swett

Boston  Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm, recently hired Brian Swett as Director, Cities and Sustainable Real Estate in the Americas. In this new role, Brian will spearhead the work of Arup in the Americas to integrate its advisory services in strategy development, planning, finance, operations and economics with its key strengths in design, engineering and implementation services, delivered in the city context

 

Brian’s work will build on Arup’s existing broad range of skills including planning, sustainability, transportation consulting and energy masterplanning to bring strategic support to cities and major real estate portfolio clients. He will be leading efforts at Arup in the Americas to deepen its engagements with mayors, city governments, developers, infrastructure owners, and other key urban stakeholders in support of fostering sustainable, thriving, and climate change resilient cities.

 

“Cities are at the front line of many of the challenges and opportunities facing society today,” noted Mahadev Raman, PE, LEED AP, Chairman of the Americas Region at Arup. “Brian brings a breadth of experience on the government and private sides of urban development and management that positions him ideally to spearhead Arup’s efforts to grow our portfolio of multidisciplinary work that improves the operations, livability, sustainability and finances of cities throughout the Americas.”

 

Arup’s work in cities has included collaboration with C40 Cities in developing “Climate Action in Megacities 2.0”, an opportunities and baseline report which shows a clear trend of expanding climate action in cities; development of the “City Resilience Framework” supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, a tool that establishes a shared definition of resiliency indicators to help cities understand their own strengths and weaknesses; and enabling cities to develop their own climate adaptation and mitigation plans, like the Washington DC Sustainability Plan.

 

Prior to joining Arup, Brian served as Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the City of Boston. Encompassing more than 400 employees and a $40 million annual budget, his cabinet responsibilities included the Inspectional Services Department, the Environment Department, and the Parks and Recreation Department. Over his tenure, Brian led a variety of major policy and program initiatives including developing and passing a rental inspection ordinance and a building energy disclosure ordinance. He also launched Greenovate Boston, a sustainability education and outreach initiative, and Climate Ready Boston, a set of climate preparedness initiatives focused on Boston’s built and natural environment. Most recently, he led the update to the City’s Climate Action Plan, which was released in January 2015.  Under his leadership, Boston was recognized by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the #1 city in the country for energy efficiency policies and programs in their 2013 and 2015 biennial rankings.

 

Brian demonstrates his personal enthusiasm to sustainability issues as an advisory board member for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Center for Sustainability and a board member for the Boston Green Academy. In addition, Brian served as an appointee to the boards of the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA), Boston Groundwater Trust, Boston Harbor Islands Alliance, and the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. He also represented the City on the Boston Green Ribbon Commission, the State’s Global Warming Solutions Act Implementation Advisory Committee, and the State’s Energy Efficiency Advisory Council.

 

Previously, Brian was a development project manager and sustainability lead with Boston Properties where he advised and oversaw LEED and sustainability related initiatives throughout the Boston region and across the company. He was involved in a variety of green building projects including Atlantic Wharf, New England’s first LEED-Platinum Certified skyscraper. He started his career as an environmental protection specialist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).