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David Butterfield

David Butterfield

Member, Board of Directors of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at ASU

Titles

  • President, The Trust for Sustainable Development
  • Member, Board of Directors of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at ASU
  • Adjunct Faculty, School of Sustainability

Biography

David Butterfield started in the construction industry as a carpenter in rural British Columbia and moved to Victoria, where he became active in the development of affordable housing. In 1989, a series of meetings with several environmental activists converted him to a path of sustainable development. In the mid-1990's, he directed the planning and creation of a new sustainable community of 2,400 homes in Tucson, Ariz., called Civano. The New York Times referred to this community as one of the four most sustainable developments in North America.

Mr. Butterfield is the President of the Trust for Sustainable Development and founder of Loreto Bay Company, currently building a $5 billion sustainable community at Loreto Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Mr. Butterfield is committed to developing sustainable buildings and communities through the use of leadingedge environmental and social technologies. He is also a founder of the Trust for Sustainable Forestry and the Mexico Green Building Council.

Recently, Mr. Butterfield completed Shoal Point, one of Canada's most advanced sustainable buildings, a 425,000 square-foot, mixed-use, brownfield redevelopment fronting the Victoria, British Columbia, harbor. Over the past several years, Shoal Point has received much recognition and numerous awards including the SAM Award for the Best Multi-Family Building in Canada by the National Division of Canadian Homebuilders Association, the Urban Development Institute Award for Best Multi-Family High Rise Development, 18 CHBA Care Awards, including 2003 Project of the Year, and eight CHBA Georgie Awards.

The government of British Columbia presented Mr. Butterfield with the Building Better Futures Community Award for his "commitment to innovation, energy efficient and environmentally friendly development, affordable housing, youth employment, live/work design and public art that extends beyond the industry to enhance the community in which he builds." In May 2005, he was awarded the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce Good Neighbor Award for positive contributions to U.S.-Mexico relations.

Education

  • Harvard University