On May 8, Maryland Delegate Liz Bobo visited the campus of Howard Community College (HCC) to receive a tour of the LEED Certified Health Sciences Building, learn what the USGBC Students group has been up to and speak with students about the local sustainability issues. In addition to the USGBC Students group members, we were joined by faculty and facilities personnel from HCC and students from the environmental club, making it a diverse group of key stakeholders for campus sustainability. We...

On Memorial Day, we salute our servicemen and women for their heroic work to protect the values of this country that we all hold so dear. To return the favor, the USGBC South Carolina Chapter has teamed up with the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs to develop the Energy Efficient Homes for Heroes program.  Through past grant support from Wells Fargo and the USGBC Chapters Impact Grant program, the Energy Efficient Homes for Heroes Program boosts energy efficiency, reduces...

Last week, the U.S. Green Building Council joined Kaiser Permanente in Hillsboro, Ore., to put a LEED Gold plaque on our Westside Medical Center.   Kaiser Permanente has achieved LEED certification for other buildings in the past, but this was the first LEED Gold rating we’ve earned for a hospital, which, with around-the-clock operations, highly specialized medical equipment and strict regulatory oversight, is more complicated to build and operate than another type of structure. It...

Welcome back to the LEED v4 first look series, where we’re giving you a sneak preview at the new or updated tools and resources that are part on the LEED v4 program. Everything that we’ve done has been based on the great feedback we’ve received from a number of sources including LEED volunteers, participants in the LEED v4 Beta (who are actually certifying projects using the LEED v4 credits and tools) and other LEED practitioners. LEED Online Forms (part 2) In the previous...

More people worry about chemicals of concern in our environment than ever before, and it’s starting to change how manufacturers are thinking about building materials and products that enter our homes. A significant portion of this pollution comes from the materials that make up our indoor environment: wall coverings, floor covering, adhesives, finishes, and a whole host of obvious and non-obvious culprits. The number of chemicals of concern contained in these products is almost beyond...

According to a report by the Urban Land Institute, the world’s urban population will almost double by 2050, from 3.3 billion to 6.4 billion, with Asia carrying the greatest proportion.   In China, as urban growth continues to expand and air pollution worsens, LEED green buildings can help address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization.  China remains the third largest market for LEED in the world. Currently, there are over 1,500...

Washington, D.C. (May 29, 2013) – Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will give the opening keynote address at its 2013 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year’s conference will take place November 20-22 in Philadelphia at the LEED Gold-certified Pennsylvania Convention Center. Registration opens June 5, 2013. Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the 67th U.S. Secretary of State from 2009 until...

Market transformation.  We use that term a lot around USGBC but I don’t think I completely grasped its full power to change lives and change the world until yesterday, when we made our announcement about the new partnership with Hanley Wood and Greenbuild. We’ve been talking a lot about the fact that it’s our 20th anniversary. 20 years to get to here, and, man oh man, here is a place I’d never, ever thought we’d see. But what if “here” was not just...

Global projects represent a variety of building types, including schools, universities, healthcare facilities, office spaces and residential buildings Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2013) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today that nearly 100 building projects across the globe are already using LEED v4, the next version of the LEED green building program, by participating in the LEED v4 beta. The beta project teams are helping USGBC validate and improve LEED v4...

DRPP is more than a funny sounding acronym. The Demand Response Partnership Program (DRPP) is a program started by USGBC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to bring the building and energy communities together, and to increase participation in demand response programs. So what is demand response? Demand response is a way of reducing stress on the grid during times of heavy (peak) usage. Think about a late summer afternoon: what if everyone came home from work and used their air...

Over the last decade we’ve watched Greenbuild grow into the industry's can't miss event, and this year we’re confident this is going to be our biggest and best Greenbuild yet.  In 2013, we’re celebrating our theme, Greenbuild Nation, in the great city of Philadelphia from November 20-22. The green building movement is a global movement. The good we are working for is universal; our actions are local and regional; and our impact is worldwide. Today we unite behind a shared...

Here’s our weekly collection of green building clips: Hanley Wood Acquires Greenbuild Conference & Expo, Trade Show News Network. USGBC’s new partnership with Hanley Wood for Greenbuild will help the world’s largest event dedicated to green building gain even more momentum. Kaiser Permanente says its new Hillsboro hospital is a model for future facilities, touts LEED Gold certification, The Oregonian. Congratulations to USGBC platinum member Kaiser Permanente for its LEED...