SWA’s Gayathri Vijayakumar Recognized with 2023 ICC National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Award
May 5, 2023 | Chicago – We’re proud to announce that Gayathri Vijayakumar, Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA), received the 2023 National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Award from the International Code Council’s Sustainability Membership Council.
The award ceremony took place at the US DOE National Energy Codes Conference hosted by the US Department of Energy held May 3-4 in Chicago. The award was presented to Gayathri by Alison Lindburg, Buildings Director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) and Chair of the ICC Sustainability Membership Council, and Patricia Chawla, Conservation Program Coordinator at Austin Energy and Vice Chair of the ICC Sustainability Membership Council.
The National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Award “recognizes outstanding contributions to the growth and enhancement of codes or public policy espousing the principles of the Code Council Sustainability Membership Council. The awards honor states, cities, towns, and individuals who go above and beyond to raise compliance with building energy codes—and by doing so, help unlock billions in savings and improve the efficiency of America’s new and existing buildings and homes using cost-effective, practical, and innovative strategies.” Click here to learn more about the Code Council awards program.
Patricia Chawla, Alison Lindburg, and Gayathri Vijayakumar
The Governing Committee of the Sustainability Membership Council of the International Code Council selected Gayathri as the 2023 award recipient for her “dedication to building consensus in developing the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, ultimately helping achieve global net-zero energy and decarbonization goals.”
For over 17 years, Gayathri has specialized in evaluating residential and multifamily buildings with an emphasis on high-performance, energy-efficient construction and renewable energy systems.
This firsthand knowledge led to her involvement in developing and providing technical support to EPA’s ENERGY STAR Multifamily High-Rise and Multifamily New Construction programs. Her experience working with various stakeholders to develop and refine program requirements that are feasible, energy-efficient, and cost-effective then led her to get involved in code and standard development.
Gayathri believed that the work of her colleagues would have a greater impact on the built environment if they could apply their lessons learned to a greater number of buildings. Click here to read more about Gayathri’s career in the Building Safety Journal.
Gayathri is currently Chair of the RESNET Standards Development Committee, SDC 300, which has oversight over two Standards—both of which are referenced in the 2021 IECC. She is also a voting member of the 2024 IECC Residential Consensus Committee, which is tasked with developing the Residential provisions of the 2024 IECC. It is her role on this Committee that led to the 2023 award, as she became well-known for consensus-building and finding the middle ground in a voting body with diverse interests and perspectives.
Click here to learn more about the 2024 IECC-R from Gayathri.