Robert K. Watson

Robert K. Watson

Robert "Rob" Watson, born in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, is an international leader in the green building movement. He founded the LEED Green Building Rating System of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993 and was its Founding Chairman until 2006.

After helping to pioneer the green building concept as the "Father of LEED," Watson founded the EcoTech International Group (ETI) to meet the fast-growing demand for green building technologies and services in China, Russia, India and the United States. Watson is currently the Chairman, CEO and Chief Scientist of EcoTech International and its subsidiaries.

Since 2008, Watson has also been the Executive Editor of GreenerBuildings.com where he blogs about the state of green. His work on green buildings in China and green technology in general has been featured in numerous publications, including Fortune Magazine and The Economist and has been referenced on multiple occasions by New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. In Thomas Friedman's 2008 book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Watson is described as "one of the best environmental minds in America."

Former Senior Scientist and Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's International Energy and Green Building programs, Watson has over 25 years of experience on five continents improving the environmental performance of buildings, utilities and transportation through energy and building policy and program development, integrated design solutions, and clean building technologies.

Watson was the only foreigner to have been honored by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China with its first Green Innovation Award in Beijing in 2005. In 2002, he was named as the first recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership Award For Lifetime Achievement for his work with the organization.