Martha Campbell on decarbonizing the built environment

Design the Future

Martha Campbell is a Principal in RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings Practice, focused on decarbonizing the U.S. building stock using standardized, affordable, attractive building construction methods and innovative business models.

Martha has worked in the ski industry and for Goldman Sachs and doing field organizing in Northern New Mexico. A stay at an off-the-grid hostel in Australia prompted her to wonder, “Why don’t we build everything this way?” At RMI now, she is working to decarbonize the economy using market based approaches. And that early question still drives her. “I want to move to a place where this is just how you build things.” And, she points out, it’s not just about decarbonizing: “It’s about making sure that buildings are healthy and safe places to live. We need to build resilience, too.” Some of the biggest challenges relate to a recalcitrant industry’s stakeholders who are scared of change. Campbell and RMI are trying to prove that a new model can benefit many.