The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) says it will commit to scaling green buildings to more than 5 billion sf over the next five years through the LEED and EDGE green building rating systems. USGBC’s commitment was made at Buildings Day at the United Nations climate negotiations conference known as COP21.
LEED projects are in more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 1.85 million sf of space being certified every day. Designed for emerging economies, EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) is a green building certification system for new residential and commercial buildings that enables design teams and project owners to assess the most cost effective ways to incorporate energy and water saving options into their buildings.
To play its part in limiting global warming to 2 degrees, the buildings sector must reduce emissions by 84 gigatons by 2050 – the equivalent of not building 22,000 coal powered plants, USGBC says.
Related Stories
Senior Living Design | May 16, 2024
Healthy senior living campus ‘redefines the experience of aging’
MBH Architects, in collaboration with Eden Housing and Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, announces the completion of Vivalon’s Healthy Aging Campus, a forward-looking project designed to redefine the experience of aging in Marin County.
Sustainability | May 10, 2024
Perkins&Will’s first ESG report discloses operational performance data across key metrics
Perkins&Will recently released its first ESG report that discloses the firm’s operational performance data across key metrics and assesses its strengths and opportunities.
Sustainable Development | May 10, 2024
Nature as the city: Why it’s time for a new framework to guide development
NBBJ leaders Jonathan Ward and Margaret Montgomery explore five inspirational ideas they are actively integrating into projects to ensure more healthy, natural cities.
K-12 Schools | May 7, 2024
World's first K-12 school to achieve both LEED for Schools Platinum and WELL Platinum
A new K-12 school in Washington, D.C., is the first school in the world to achieve both LEED for Schools Platinum and WELL Platinum, according to its architect, Perkins Eastman. The John Lewis Elementary School is also the first school in the District of Columbia designed to achieve net-zero energy (NZE).
K-12 Schools | Apr 30, 2024
Fully electric Oregon elementary school aims for resilience with microgrid design
The River Grove Elementary School in Oregon was designed for net-zero carbon and resiliency to seismic events, storms, and wildfire. The roughly 82,000-sf school in a Portland suburb will feature a microgrid—a small-scale power grid that operates independently from the area’s electric grid.
75 Top Building Products | Apr 22, 2024
Enter today! BD+C's 75 Top Building Products for 2024
BD+C editors are now accepting submissions for the annual 75 Top Building Products awards. The winners will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Building Design+Construction.
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2024
ICC eliminates building electrification provisions from 2024 update
The International Code Council stripped out provisions from the 2024 update to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would have included beefed up circuitry for hooking up electric appliances and car chargers.
Codes and Standards | Apr 8, 2024
First federal blueprint to decarbonize U.S. buildings sector released
The Biden Administration recently released “Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector,” a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from buildings by 65% by 2035 and 90% by 2050.
Green | Apr 8, 2024
LEED v5 released for public comment
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has opened the first public comment period for the first draft of LEED v5. The new version of the LEED green building rating system will drive deep decarbonization, quality of life improvements, and ecological conservation and restoration, USGBC says.
Codes and Standards | Apr 8, 2024
Boston’s plans to hold back rising seawater stall amid real estate slowdown
Boston has placed significant aspects of its plan to protect the city from rising sea levels on the actions of private developers. Amid a post-Covid commercial development slump, though, efforts to build protective infrastructure have stalled.
