COMMONWEALTH SUSTAINABILITY WORKS
GREEN BUILDING + SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES + STRATEGIC PLANNING

Founded in 2001, CSW is a professional consulting firm dedicated to helping individuals live richer, more productive lives and to enabling organizations to be successful without depleting the natural systems upon which our communities and livelihoods depend.

We promote an ethics-based decision making process, whereby, after clarifying their values, clients are encouraged to make choices more in accordance with those values. Sometimes this is a matter of incorporating previously missing information, sometimes a matter of rallying the discipline to maintain good habits. In either case, our role is a facilitator - helping the clients learn about issues important to their lives or businesses and then finding ways to incorporate that information into positive actions. We also rely upon the notion that each of us has a responsibility to adjust our consumption to a level that might conceivably be sustained by the resources of our planet. This is not a philosophy of denial. It is the creative work of seeking the best in human experience - made better because we are working towards good things that we believe in rather than repressing what our conscience tells us.

Personnel

Principal Andrew Grigsby founded Commonwealth Sustainability Works in 2001. He offers clients extensive knowledge of sustainability - as applied to everything from grocery shopping to state land use policy. Though well-versed in theory, he has an old carpenter's desire to see practical results. For clients ready to move from knowledge to action, he develops creative solutions to the most demanding challenges.

Andrew previously worked many years in various construction trades, served as a program facilitator in the experiential education industry, and managed the Sustainable Communities Initiative of the City of Austin, Texas. His formal education includes a Master's Degree in Community and Regional Planning from The University of Texas and a Bachelor's Degree in social theory from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Our size limits us to only a few projects at a time - which means focused, personal attention for our clients. We join you as partners working to achieve your goals and to move our world a little closer to peace and prosperity for all.

Certifications/Specializations

• LEED® Accredited Professional
• Certified Home Energy Rater

Memberships

• Virginia Sustainable Building Network
• U.S. Green Building Council
• Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET)
• Culpeper County Chamber of Commerce
• Energy Star - As a certified home energy rater, CSW is authorized to qualify homes for the Federal ENERGY STAR label - which designates superior energy performance in homes and buildings. ENERGY STAR qualified products and practices help save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by meeting guidelines set by the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE.

Partner Organizations

We are lucky to work closely with a variety of specialists.

• Civic Economics - Economic Development Planning
• Practica Consulting - Green Building Program Development and Marketing
• Wiltshire & Company - Fundraising and Strategic Management