Let’s Get to Work: Climate Change, Infrastructure and Innovation, the theme of the 6th annual Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference, focuses on how to address the realities of climate change. Hosted in Washington D.C. next week (April 16-18), the conference will bring a diverse group of dynamic speakers and organizations together to discuss how national goals for resiliency and sustainability, and goals to grow our economy and create jobs, are one and the same. As the green building industry...

This article was originally posted on americanbanker.com on April 2, 2013 Since the 1930s, when the Federal Housing Administration published its earliest underwriting manuals, mortgage lenders have used a loan applicant's debt-to-income ratio to measure his or her ability to pay a mortgage loan. But lenders today typically count only a limited basket of loan applicant expenses toward DTI: the new mortgage payment, taxes and insurance and other loan payments. Lenders leave out many major...

“The business case for building green has already been proven,” said Jim Allen, the CEO of the Sloan Valve Company, at a Congressional briefing last week showcasing how businesses benefit from green building. The briefing, sponsored by Congressman Cory Gardner (R-Co) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), allowed business leaders like Allen and others to tell members of Congress and their staff about the economic benefits of efficient, high-performing buildings. The featured business speakers,...

In January 2013, the Metropolitan Government of Tokyo announced the results of the second year of reporting for its cap-and-trade program for commercial and industrial buildings. The innovative policy, which drives emissions reductions through energy efficiency retrofits, realized a staggering 13% reduction in building sector emissions in the first year of operation, a figure which nearly doubled in 2012. By definition, a cap-and-trade scheme sets a limit for emissions that is lower than...

We love seeing positive support for the benefits of LEED at the national, state and local levels. Here’s a recent example in Alabama: The Honorable Tom Whatley Room 733 State House 11 South Union Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130 RE: SB 326 Dear Senator Whatley, We have been made aware of SB 326, which states in part that “no building certification can be used in Alabama that discriminates against recognized certification systems.” Because LEED is an important component of our work as employees...

In growing numbers, USGBC chapters have been directly engaging with state legislatures to enhance their existing relationships and grow new relationships with their state elected leaders. Already this year, several chapters across the country have held advocacy days in their state capitols to support government leadership and support sound public policy initiatives. Last week I was fortunate enough to join the Mississippi chapter of the USGBC as its members descended on the state capitol in...

Two years ago, USGBC had the crazy idea of bringing together both sides of the grid - utilities and technology solution providers AND owners and managers of LEED registered and certified buildings - with the end goal of increasing participation in Demand Response and Smart Grid programs. And now there’s one more voice to add to the conversation: that of the Federal Government. Yesterday, I had the honor of attending the GreenGov Dialogue on Demand Response hosted by the Council on...

If you thought we had a lot to celebrate in 2012, just brace yourself for 2013. Green building advocates have already mobilized for policy action in South Carolina, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Arkansas, Iowa and Colorado. I was fortunate enough to join the USGBC chapter-led advocacy efforts in Des Moines and Denver last week, and I think we’re on the verge of something big. USGBC-Iowa orchestrated its second annual visit to the capitol dome (pictured above) to carry the flag...

It’s simple, really. There’s nothing else like LEED to advance green building, whether you are a Fortune 100 company or the U.S. General Services Administration. If you’re serious about saving money, saving energy, reducing water, improving indoor air quality, making better material choices, and driving innovation, then LEED is the best choice, bar none. There’s nothing else even close. That’s exactly what we told the General Services Administration earlier today. In response to GSA’s request...

Higher performing, healthier LEED-Certified buildings are becoming the market norm, increasingly demanded by owners and tenants alike. Did policy play a role in this growth? At the state and local levels, the answer is 'yes.' States and localities are embracing energy efficiency building policies, adopting rating systems like LEED for public building construction, and incentivizing better building practices in the private sector. The support of USGBC’s network of chapters and advocates has...

I’m not an economist, but if I am trying to save money, I don’t stop depositing money into my savings account. I’m not a CEO, but if I had a division of a business that was turning a profit with every dollar invested, I would probably look at ways to increase investment, not reduce it. But the coming sequester will make arbitrary across-the-board cuts in government program budgets, including extremely successful programs that pay for themselves in energy efficiency and green building. That’s...

“From Outcome to Implementation” – That was the theme of the first universal session of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF), which convened on Monday . The agenda for the meeting, open to all 193 UN member states for the first time, sought to create a framework for the implementation of the Rio+20 “The Future We Want” outcome document. My role at this meeting was unique. In December 2012, I was elected to serve...