Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI)

Overview

California residents are experiencing the growing impacts of climate change. In January 2025, fires tore through the Santa Monica Mountains, devastating communities in Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu. As residents begin the difficult process of rebuilding, they face crucial decisions around how to rebuild their homes to ensure sustainability and resilience. The Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI) aims to facilitate sustainable and resilience rebuilds by offering super green home designs that serve as templates, featuring 100% electric and Net Zero Energy (NZE) homes that are supported by Solar Microgrids that deliver unparalleled energy resilience.  Additionally, the GRI is curating a corral of green architects, builders, and other collaborators that can implement those designs into new homes for property owners in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and everywhere beyond.

Mission

The Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI) is committed to establishing a handful of super green 100% electric, NZE rebuild designs for homeowners who lost their properties in the 2025 LA Fires. These designs will  support fire-affected residents and serve as a widely publicized blueprint for sustainable rebuilding in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and beyond.  Additionally, the GRI is curating a corral of green architects, builders, and other collaborators that can implement those designs into new homes for property owners.

At the core of these super green designs is a commitment to 100% electric, NZE homes powered by Solar Microgrids, delivering an unparalleled trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits.

The GRI delivers a spectrum of benefits, including:

1. Super green homes minimize energy costs while maximizing safety and resilience.
2. All new homes can benefit from super green template designs, which are relatively easy to leverage compared to starting such designs from scratch, along with having easy access to the curated corral of collaborators to implement the designs into completed homes.
3. The environment sees a major reduction in carbon emissions and a strengthened commitment to renewable energy and other smart energy solutions.

By making these designs accessible and replicable, the GRI ensures that rebuilding efforts contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.

With a clear 5-step roadmap, the GRI aims to facilitate super green rebuilding:.

1. Identify a handful of property owners who are committed to rebuilding in a super green fashion.
2. Establish initial renderings and identify recommended all-electric appliances.
3. Perform load analyses and size solar & storage for meeting Net Zero Energy (NZE) and delivering unparalleled energy resilience.
4. Coordinate with a curated group of designers, architects, builders, and other collaborators who have proven experience to implement super green designs into new homes.
5. Publicize the designs widely, via:
   1. Media (articles and TV news coverage).
   2. Collaborations with other parties like Rick Caruso, Mayor Bass and Steve Soboroff, Green Building Council, Direct Relief, and others.
   3. Webinars to provide detailed education about the GRI and the freely available designs and build awareness of the corral of super green collaborations.

To start, the Clean Coalition will work closely with a select group of homeowners who are committed to rebuilding in a super green fashion. By showcasing their projects, these early adopters will serve as powerful examples of what’s possible when sustainable design is integrated from the ground up.

Once these homeowners are identified, the team will create initial renderings that bring these visions to life. This includes selecting electric appliances that ensure no gas hookups are incorporated in the designs. Every element will be chosen to maximize efficiency and long-term energy cost savings.

A crucial technical step in the process is performing load analyses and determining solar and battery storage sizes to achieve NZE and to maximize energy resilience during short Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, and more importantly, for long-term grid outages during actual disasters. In the end, Solar Microgrids will be designed to deliver an unparalleled trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits.

To bring these designs to life, the Clean Coalition is assembling experienced super green designers, architects, and builders. Although the GRI is just launching, the following collaborators have already been confirmed:

• Fallon Vaughan, a developer with hands-on experience building super green homes in Paradise, CA, after the devastating 2018 wildfires.
• Dennis Allen, Founder of Allen Construction and a leading advocate for sustainable homebuilding.
• Tim Hade, Co-Founder of Scale Microgrids, who will oversee the integration of solar-driven microgrid solutions.
• Lauren Michele, Owner & Sustainability Consultant, California Home Designs. Lauren combines her expertise in urban planning, climate policy, and sustainable development to create resilient homes and communities. Specializing in net-zero energy and wildfire-resilient home design, she focuses on innovative strategies through building decarbonization, energy-efficient systems, and climate-adaptation solutions.
• John Bello, P.E., President at Bello Global Consulting.
• Ellen Bildsten, Architect and member of the American Institute of Architects.
• Elisa Garcia, Architect with Garcia Architects.
• Jonathan Port, Founder and President of Permacity Foundation.

Beyond the immediate rebuild, a critical goal of this campaign is scaling impact by making these super green designs widely accessible. Through strategic media outreach, key collaborations, and educational webinars, the Clean Coalition will ensure these homes serve as replicable blueprints for future super green new homes.

The campaign is actively engaging high-profile figures and organizations to maximize visibility and support. Notable target collaborators include:

• Mayor Karen Bass and Steve Soboroff, who are leading LA’s post-fire recovery and reconstruction efforts.
• Rick Caruso, a respected LA developer and leader of Steadfast LA, a nonprofit focused on accelerating rebuilding efforts in Palisades.
• The US Green Building Council, Direct Relief, and other key stakeholders who can help scale these efforts beyond the immediate region.

Through media connections and targeted partnerships, the Clean Coalition will amplify awareness of super green building as the future standard for sustainable development.

By transforming disaster recovery into an opportunity for innovation, the GRI is proving that rebuilding after climate disasters can be smarter, cleaner, and more resilient than ever before.