Washington, D.C. — (Jan. 23, 2013) — Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its annual list of the top 10 states for new LEED certifications in 2012, highlighting those regions that are transforming buildings and communities across the country. The per-capita list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional buildings certified under LEED, through which approximately 2.2 billion square feet of space has been certified worldwide through 2012. “...

(Doha, Qatar – Dec. 4, 2012) – In conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Eighteenth Conference of Parties (COP18), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) hosted a joint event at Msheireb Enrichment Centre,highlighting the growth of green building construction throughout the world, with a focus on Doha and the greater Middle East region. The event, “Building the Green Economy through Sustainable Design and...

Partnership to Develop STAR Community Rating System™ Commenced Five Years Ago in Chicago San Francisco, CA (November 14, 2012) – Today STAR Communities is announcing that more than 30 North American cities and counties will be engaged in a year-long pilot to evaluate and test the first national rating system for community sustainability. In 2007, at GREENBUILD in Chicago, the seed was planted to develop the STAR Community Rating System, and five years later, the system has been released and...

San Francisco (Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012) - An architect responsible for transforming Brazil’s built environment has been presented with the second annual World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) David Gottfried Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award. With more than half a century working in the construction industry, Professor Siegbert Zanettini is a pioneer in the use of new clean technologies and building systems. Presenting the award, founder of the WorldGBC and U.S. Green Building...

Statement from Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC, Response to the Fourth USA Today Article Attacking Green Buildings Washington, DC (Dec. 11, 2012) – USA Today has once again written an article attacking green building, deliberately ignoring information we provided and cherry picking data that misleads readers. The story is unbalanced and purposely attempts to impugn LEED despite the fact that it has helped lead quantified best practices in designing, constructing and...

Nov. 16, 2012 (San Francisco, Calif.) – At its Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the launch of the Green Building Information Gateway. Coined GBIG, the web-based tool will accelerate market transformation by providing greater transparency and understanding of the green dimensions of the built environment. GBIG provides a transparent view of places, projects, collections and credits, detailing the actions and activities of LEED...

Focus is on healthy building materials to promote indoor environmental quality and human health San Francisco, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2012) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today, on the main stage at its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, a $3 million grant from Google that will catalyze the transformation of the building materials industry and accelerate the creation of healthier indoor environments. “Healthy, non-toxic building materials are a critical...

7,000 members of the green building industry convene for opening plenary headlined by "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough San Francisco, Calif. - (Nov. 14, 2012) - U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the world's largest conference dedicated to green building kicked off today at San Francisco's LEED Gold Moscone Center with 7,000 attendees. This morning's opening plenary, headlined by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika...

Dec. 7, 2012 (Washington, D.C. & White Plains, N.Y.) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School today announced two new free resources — the Technical Guidance Manual for Sustainable Neighborhoods and the Neighborhood Development Floating Zone — to help local governments leverage the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system as a sustainability tool. Generous funding for the Center, in conjunction with USGBC, for the research, writing, and...

San Francisco (Nov. 16, 2012) – Today, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a global network of the world’s mega-cities dedicated to action on climate change, announced an expanded partnership, focused on creating a suite of innovative green building solutions that can be readily implemented in C40 Cities around the world. The announcement broadens the scope of the organizations’ longstanding...

Poll: Polluters should pay for their role in climate change, invest in jobs that can’t be outsourced SAN FRANCISCO (November 14, 2012) – On the day that California launches its cap and trade program, a new poll of voters in California, Oregon and Washington shows strong support for maintaining and expanding efforts across the region to account for the costs of climate pollution and invest in clean energy sources by ensuring polluters pay when they contribute to climate change. The findings...

Green building has become a long-term business opportunity with 51 percent of study firms planning more than 60 percent of their work to be green by 2015, up from 28 percent of firms in 2012. The largest opportunity areas for green building globally are in new commercial construction and renovation of existing buildings. New York, NY – Nov. 13, 2012 – Around the world, the green building marketplace is accelerating, according to a new study being released by McGraw-Hill Construction in...