Brian Yeoman: In hyperdrive on global initiative for the planet
by Vicki Wolf, September 2011

Brian Yeoman has helped many of the largest organizations in Houston become more sustainable by showing them how to take baby steps that can lead to what he calls “extreme knowledge” and giant leaps forward in energy efficiency and effectiveness. Now he's taking giant steps as the Houston director for Clinton Foundation's C40 - an international project to reduce greenhouse gasses in 40 of the world's largest cities. Under Yeoman's direction, Houston has become the most active member of C40.

“I'm proud to play role in assisting the City of Houston, a giant who was asleep, to wake up and think about quality of life and the health of its citizens, and to actually do projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Yeoman says.

Before joining the Clinton Foundation in 2007, Yeoman worked as a senior research scientist at Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC). Twenty-seven years of Yeoman's career was at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) as chief facilities officer and then vice president of Facilities Planning and Development. Major accomplishments at the center include chief liaison officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the recovery from Tropical Storm Allison. He facilitated the construction of the School of Nursing and Student Community Center, an AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects in an American facility. He also was involved in the installation of the largest photovoltaic system in southeast Texas.

While working in facilities planning and procurement at UTHealth, Yeoman had an epiphany that changed the direction of his career. In an interview for CLEAN in 2006 he told the story of this life-changing experience: He was making a large carpet purchase for the health science center and realized he would need to discard a mountain of carpeting and padding 3,800 feet high and five miles wide. He had to find out where all that carpet was thrown away. “I went to the Sheldon Dump in Houston. It's in an African American community and large enough to be seen from space.” He stood there and watched bulldozers pile up box springs, TV sets and other stuff. “It put me into very intense guilt and reflection asking, ‘What are we doing?'”

He started to make changes at home. He and his two young daughters started their own recycling system and used the money they earned from recycling to go on vacations. They stopped fertilizing the lawn and started composting.

He started making changes at UTHealth that included the introduction of the Natural Step to faculty and staff. The Natural Step is a set of principles developed to build an ecologically and economically sustainable society. The goal was to educate, train and inspire every member of the university to conduct their activities in a sustainable way.

Initiatives included lighting retrofit projects, a comprehensive energy management program and an expanded recycling program and more that resulted in $24 million in savings over a six year period.

Yeoman continues to teach the Natural Step and uses its principles to encourage organizations, cities and school systems to move toward sustainability goals. He says he is able to get organizations to move forward with sustainability projects by gaining their trust and helping them understand that they can reach their goals by taking one step at a time. “What people ultimately get comfortable with is that baby steps count,” Yeoman says.

Last year, Yeoman received the Blackwood Educational Land Institute's Green Wellies Award for his “innovative behind-the-scenes contributions that helped build Houston's Green Community . Beyond individual projects, Brian probably played a part in the major green building and living efforts in Houston.” Yeoman also received the Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) President's Synergy Award in 2006 and the CEC Education Award in 2001.

After decades of working with organizations in Houston, Yeoman began to realize that he was ready to work on a much larger scale of action. The Clinton Foundation position has provided this platform. “The opportunity was to stop working at small scale and see what you can do at real scale and with replicability,” Yeoman says “It also affords the opportunity to learn how you can build other buildings worldwide that will contribute to what is happening.”

In addition to working as the C40 Houston director, Yeoman works with a building retrofit team that has projects in all 40 cities around the world. This has given Yeoman the opportunity to travel to Rotterdam, Sao Paulo and New York City. “Your ability to learn is geometrically expanded when you are presented with challenges in new places, climates and time zones,” Yeoman says. “It requires you to challenge your own thinking before you move on in the process.”

Yeoman seems to work non-stop. A sad event in his personal life two years ago reignited his passion. Yeoman's youngest daughter, who was 23 and enjoying her career and her life, died suddenly in 2009 from a cyst on the brain stem. The cause is unknown for this rare condition.

“Part of the reason I work like a madman is that I don't have her,” Yeoman says. “It's like a five-year energy drink to have a daughter die of something that is unexplainable.” Yeoman's older daughter teaches disadvantaged kids in Houston. “She is my inspiration. When things get tough in this arena, kids understand it.”

Yeoman believes that everyone needs to do great things to bring carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) down in order to prevent imminent climate change tipping points. “Hope is here even though worldwide data is crushingly disappointing,” Yeoman says. “There is more dialogue than ever before.” He advises everyone to move beyond all the bad news. Take baby steps, talk to neighbors, friends, spouses and children about what you can do to reduce your CO 2 footprint. “And remember, you too can do great things.”

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