ABOUT

BUILDTank, Inc. Mission

BUILDTank is a practical building think tank whose mission is to use what we learn by applying building science in the field to affect meaningful change in the construction industry.  To chase issues that hold the industry back and generate ideas and innovations that move sustainable building into mainstream building.

BUILDTank, Inc. Vision

A future where obstacles to applied building science-based construction dissolve away and are replaced with solutions that are understandable, attainable, and expected.

BUILDTank, Inc. C5 Values

  • Catalyst: Channel effective and meaningful change.  Doing good and meaningful work to find the synergy that moves things forward.
  • Clarity: Keep it simple and attainable to all. Be the analyst, synergist, and catalyst that makes the maze a straight line.
  • Continuity: Sustainable existence over time.  Energy, water, indoor air quality, resilience, low impact, carbon neutral, net zero.
  • Candid: Truthful, straightforward, frank, the right thing. Be reflective, mindful, and honest.
  • Chōwa-Kaizen: “The spirit of partnership and life balance through the art of continuous improvement”
    • Combined two principles from Japan:
      • Chowa is a Japanese concept that is often translated as ‘harmony’, but more accurately means ‘the search for balance’.
      • Kaizen is a Japanese business philosophy regarding the process of continuous improvement that engages everyone in the organization.
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The built environment and the natural environment have been lifelong passions of mine.  I can cherish and find motivation in one to continue to be an analyst, synergist, and catalyst for meaningful yet sometimes incremental change in the other.  Thinking ZERO to 360° is a tag line that strives to connect this environmental ethic to an industry that has traditionally thought to be lacking. We need wildly holistic, innovative, and full spectrum thinking to take zero energy, carbon neutral, sustainable, healthy, and well performing homes from the fringe to the mainstream.  This is my aim.

Robby Schwarz – Principal Thinker

Founder of BUILDTank, Inc.

Robby has been a champion of home performance for over 25 years, focusing on building performance, applied building science, and system thinking.  He is committed to helping industry partners, builders, code jurisdictions, and others understand residential energy, applied building science, systems thinking, home performance and our role in the built environment.

His interest started in 1995, while exploring how to incorporate green building materials into the production building environment.  Soon after, Robby founded his first company, BuiltWright, Inc.  In 2006, he cofounded EnergyLogic, now the largest energy rating firm of its kind in Colorado. In 2020 he became the principal thinker and founder of BUILDTank, Inc., a pragmatic building think tank specializing in actionable applied building science solutions. When getting his hands dirty doing the work he finds that ideas are stimulated, and innovative change can occur.

Using what he has learned from working on thousands of homes, Robby has helped train and lead the industry.  He is actively involved in energy code development, builder and trade training, and educating the next generation of residential energy experts.  He has helped Colorado jurisdictions develop and implement their energy codes, presented code language that was successfully adopted at the national ICC® code hearings, and encouraged implementation of the simulated performance path for code compliance.  His ability to integrate applied building science and systems thinking with building programs such as Energy Star®, Indoor airPlus®, and DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes® has lead to thousands of certified homes in Colorado.

Robby is a sought-after trainer and routinely presents at RESNET®, EEBA, the ENERGY STAR® Summit, the Colorado Chapter of the IECC®, Colorado Energy Office, and local Home Builders Associations.