United States Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated. USGBC is best known for the development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

(LEED) green building rating systems and Greenbuild, a green building conference and expo that promotes the green building

Green building

Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

industry, including environmentally responsible materials

Natural building

A natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability. Ways of achieving sustainability through natural building focus on durability and the use of minimally processed, plentiful or renewable resources, as well as those that, while...

, sustainable architecture techniques

Sustainable architecture

Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world...

and public policy

Building code

A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...

. USGBC was one of eight national councils which helped found the World Green Building Council

World Green Building Council

The World Green Building Council is a coalition of national Green Building Councils. With member organisations in over 80 countries, it is the largest international organisation influencing the green building marketplace.-History:...

in 1999.

Because of its name, USGBC is sometimes confused for a government agency or entity, but it is not; it is a private 501(c)(3), membership based non-profit organization. At the end of February 2010, USGBC had more than 18,500 member organizations from every sector of the building industry. USGBC works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. To achieve this it has developed a variety of programs and services, and works closely with key industry and research organizations and federal, state and local government agencies.

USGBC also offers a host of educational opportunities, including workshops and Web-based seminars to educate the public and industry professionals on different elements of the green building industry, from the basics to more technical information. Through its partnership with the Green Building Certification Institute

Green Building Certification Institute

The Green Building Certification Institute was established in January 2008 with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council to manage the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building Certification and the Professional Accreditation Processes.While the U.S...

, USGBC offers industry professionals the chance to develop expertise in the field of green building and to receive accreditation as LEED Green Associates or LEED APs with specialty.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

LEED began its development in 1994 founded and spearheaded by Natural Resources Defense Council

Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...

(NRDC) senior scientist Robert K. Watson

Robert K. Watson

Robert Watson, born in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, is an international leader in the green building movement. He founded the LEED Green Building Rating System of the United States Green Building Council in 1993 and was its Founding Chairman until 2006.After helping to pioneer the...

who, as founding chairman of the LEED Steering Committee until 2006, led a broad-based consensus process which included non-profit organizations, government agencies, architects, engineers, developers, builders, product manufacturers and other industry leaders. Early LEED committee members also included USGBC co-founder Mike Italiano, architects Bill Reed and Sandy Mendler, builder Gerard Heiber and engineer Richard Bourne. As interest in LEED grew, in 1996, engineers Tom Paladino and Lynn Barker co-chaired the newly formed LEED technical committee.

From 1994 to 2006, LEED grew from one standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of six interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. LEED also has grown from six volunteers on one committee to more than 200 volunteers on nearly 20 committees and nearly 200 professional staff.

USGBC established benchmarks for the LEED Green Building Rating System

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

in 2000. LEED is a framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED rating systems are currently available for new construction, existing buildings, commercial interiors, core and shell, schools, retail and homes, and rating systems are in pilot or under development for neighborhood developments and health care. Certification is generally voluntary, but required or under consideration as a requirement for certain buildings in many U.S. localities.

Recently, USGBC updated their online reference guides to help promote eco-friendly building practices worldwide. This included an interactive web tool to explain the LEED Green Building Rating System and a web application equating the rating system with a nutrition label. This redesign was carried out by Unison Agency

Unison Agency

Unison Agency is a global brand communications agency with headquarters in Washington, D.C..- History :Unison was founded in 2003 by President Robert Fardi and Creative Director R. Julius Talvik. The agency’s main focus is cross-cultural international branding and communications, with a...

.

The National Building Museum

National Building Museum

The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...

presented Rick Fedrizzi and the USGBC with its 2009 Honor Award

Honor Award

The National Building Museum promotes excellence in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and design. In furtherance of that mission, the Museum instituted an annual Honor Award in 1986 to recognize individuals and organizations that have made important contributions to the U.S.'s...

(themed "Visionaries in Sustainability"), citing the organization's "exceptional achievement in establishing and integrating green building standards" in its LEED systems as one of the reasons for selection. The museum also awarded USGBC with its Henry C. Turner Prize in 2005 for its leadership and innovation in the construction industry, specifically for LEED. To date, it is the only organization to have received two awards from the Building Museum.

External links

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

See also

External links