S&P Global Interviews VG CEO on Decarbonization Opportunities for LA Rebuilding
Verdical Group’s Founder & CEO Drew Shula was recently interviewed by S&P Global’s Tom DiChristopher for a story on rebuilding Los Angeles after the tragic fires that destroyed more than 16,000 homes in 2025.
The rebuilding process is a pivotal time for homeowners to consider decarbonizing by eliminating natural gas connections in their homes and opting for electrification.
“A lot of those decisions are happening right now, where people will be getting their insurance money and then hiring an architect and making these decisions around electrification,” Shula told the DiChristopher. “So now is the time to be doing this education and advocacy work.”
Unfortunately, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waived the city’s gas ban for new construction in 2025, allowing gas infrastructure for those who are rebuilding in impacted areas.
“For an environmentalist like me, it’s really painful that that happened,” Shula said. “Because it was such an opportunity to make all of these buildings all-electric.”
He encourages homeowners to take the decision into their own hands and choose to electrify when rebuilding.
USGBC California’s Executive Director Ben Stapleton was also quoted in the article saying, “We rarely have the opportunity to build this many homes in a community — in any community — this way,” he said. “And to me, that’s kind of the opportunity to prove out that this is possible.”
