Phil Anderson grew up in a suburb just outside Minneapolis. His dad, a chemist, was always tuned into energy efficiency, installing triple pane windows on their home at a time when such a thing was virtually unheard of.
“Efficiency was kind of always ingrained in my head,” Anderson said. He attended the University of Oregon, receiving a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. “I knew I wanted to be out in the field, not sitting at a desk all day,” he added.
Initially, Anderson envisioned himself working in the tall pine forests of the Pacific Northwest. “But during college, I started doing construction work — some electrical work, some carpentry. It was the best paying job I could find as a student.”
Shortly after graduating, Anderson’s focus remained on buildings as he moved back to the Twin Cities and began work as an energy auditor at Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties. After nearly a decade, Anderson took the position of quality assurance manager at Neighborhood Energy Connection, which merged with CEE in 2017.
“When I was doing energy audits, it just kind of dawned on me how inefficient the newly constructed homes were,” Anderson said. “It was like, ‘Wow, the way they’re building these houses hasn’t changed in decades.’”
Anderson knew that constructing more airtight, energy efficient homes upfront would not only lower each home’s carbon emissions, but also save property owners a lot of money. Now, as CEE’s new homes manager, he works to do just that.
Anderson leads a team of eight that works with architects, builders, and developers to achieve sustainable building goals. They provide project guidance from start to finish, starting with energy modeling during the design phase to final ratings and inspections when construction is complete (and a lot of things in between). The team focuses on helping builders construct buildings that are not just compliant with minimum local and state building code, but above code – a critical piece of CEE’s mission to reduce harmful carbon emissions and achieve a carbon-neutral economy.
“Growing our team has definitely been one of my proudest accomplishments at CEE,” Anderson said. "This group is not only experienced with bringing highly efficient homes to life, but also dedicated and passionate about what they do."
In 2025, the New Homes team consulted on a total of 278 single-family, townhome, and duplex projects, 120 of which were affordable housing. They also consulted on 11 multifamily construction projects, ending the year with 517 newly rated ENERGY STAR multifamily affordable housing units and 11 Phius multifamily units.
“One of my favorite parts of the job is figuring out how to fit the two big pieces of the puzzle together — budget and efficiency goals — to chart how we can get builders where they want to go,” Anderson said. “I don’t want CEE to do an energy audit on one of these houses ten years down the road and come up with a huge list of energy efficiency improvements. We want to help people get it right at the start.”