Jason F. McLennan (born 1973) is an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and prominent figure in the

green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...

movement. He is the founder, former chair, and current board member of the International Living Future Institute and Cascadia Green Building Council, a chapter of both the

United States Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

and the

Canada Green Building Council The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) was created in 2003 to further the expansion of green building in Canada. Prior to the formation of the Council, Canada had participated in the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) through British ...

. He is the CEO of McLennan Design, his own architecture and planning firm that does work all over the world. McLennan is also the creator of Pharos, an advanced building material rating system, Declare, an ingredient disclosure label for building products, and JUST, a social justice transparency platform for organizations. In addition, he developed the Living Community Challenge and Living Product Challenge. Additionally, McLennan formerly served as the chief innovation officer for Integral Group.

The Living Building Challenge

McLennan created the

Living Building Challenge The Living Building Challenge is an international sustainable building certification program created in 2006 by the non-profit International Living Future Institute. It is described by the Institute as a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification ...

, a

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

performance standard, while he was a principal with

BNIM BNIM (Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell, Inc.) is an architecture and design firm founded in 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri. BNIM’s notable sustainable projects include the Iowa Utilities Board – Office of Consumer Advocate Office Buildin ...

Architects. He transferred the intellectual property for the Challenge to Cascadia Green Building Council when he became that organization's CEO in 2006, and formally launched the program in November of that year.

Awards and honors

In 2013, McLennan was recognized by GreenBiz.com with the VERGE 25 Worldchanger Award. In 2012, McLennan's Living Building Challenge was the recipient of the 2012

Buckminster Fuller Challenge The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design competition that awards $100,000 to the most comprehensive solution to a pressing global problem. The Challenge was launched in 2007 and is a program oThe Buckminster Fuller Instit ...

Award. McLennan was named an

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

Fellow in 2012 for "creating incentives and new practices so that the built environment improves health, well-being while increasing our access to a diverse and productive natural world." In 2012, he was also appointed to join

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternativ ...

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House Majority Leader fro ...

, Mel Matinez and

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

on the advisory board of Delos, a wellness real estate development firm founded by Paul Scialla. He is a member of the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

, and in 2011, he was named one of Yes! Magazine's Breakthrough 15. McLennan is a frequent speaker at green building and sustainability conferences and has presented at events including:

Bioneers Bioneers, under its parent foundation, Collective Heritage Institute, is a nonprofit organization based in New Mexico and California that promotes practical and innovative solutions to global environmental and bio-cultural challenges. Founded in ...

, Greenbuild and the Australian Green Building Conference. In April 2016, McLennan received the Award of Excellence from Engineering News-Record magazine. McLennan's residence
Heron Hall
was named “home of the month worldwide" b
Architectural Record
in 2017.

Books

McLennan is the author of seven books: ''Transformational Thought II'' (2016), ''Transformational Thought'' (2012), ''Zugunruhe: The Inner Migration To Profound Environmental Change'' (2010), ''The Ecological Engineer'' (2006), ''The Dumb Architect's Guide to Glazing Selection'' (2004), ''The Philosophy of Sustainable Design'' (2004), and ''LOVE+GREEN BUILDING: You and Me and the Beautiful Planet.''

Family

Jason F. McLennan is married to Tracy McLennan and has four children, Julian, Declan, Aidan and Rowan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLennan, Jason F. 1973 births Living people Canadian architects People from Greater Sudbury Ashoka Fellows Ashoka USA Fellows