The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in partnership with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) and the World Green Building Council (WGBC), released a compendium of briefs that showcase the sustainability, building energy use, and climate change policy work of cities across the globe.
Approximately 74 percent of the cities examined are implementing incentives for a greener built environment, 61 percent have enacted municipal green building policies and 49 percent are pursuing sustainable community policies.
“The findings within these briefs indicate that cities are making impressive investments to create more resilient and sustainable built environments, as well as impact the health and wellbeing of their citizens,” said Roger Platt, president of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Many mayors are forging the path toward a more sustainable future, and cities are the lifeblood of policy innovation. The collective impacts and outcomes showcased across these briefs show thoughtful leadership and innovation.”
The research covers an assessment of policies, plans, projects, and programs in 66 C40 cities. Categories include: city-wide sustainability initiatives, private sector green building incentives, green codes, sustainable community development, energy benchmarking, green schools, green affordable housing, and sustainable transportation measures. Additional data points on the uptake of green building certified projects are included where applicable. Collectively, nearly 5,000 projects in these cities have achieved LEED green building certification.
“Building energy use is a leading contributor to urban greenhouse gas emissions and therefore represents one of the greatest opportunities for cities to tackle climate change,” said Mark Watts, executive director of C40. “This report shows that C40 cities, representing 500+ million people and one quarter of the global economy, are taking bold and innovative steps to improve the long-term sustainability of their municipal and private building infrastructure, for the benefit of urban citizens.”
The compendium of briefs can be found at www.usgbc.org/city-market-briefs andhttp://www.c40.org/research.
Related Stories
| Jan 2, 2013
Recent books take on net-zero energy,‘transformational thought’
We’re not in the habit of recommending books in these pages, but we could not ignore two recent noteworthy publications.
| Dec 13, 2012
Survey: energy-efficient building technologies to drive long-term energy savings
Greater adoption of existing efficiency technologies, enabled by chemistry, could lower energy use in buildings by 41% by 2050, according to new report.
| Nov 14, 2012
U.S. Green Building Council partners with Pearson
Partnership will help further USGBC’s mission by advancing green building education
| Nov 14, 2012
USGBC's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo kicks off in San Francisco
7,000 members of the green building industry convene for opening plenary headlined by "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough
| Nov 13, 2012
Turner Construction’s green building Market Barometer reveals new findings on green building and certification
Respondents indicated a widespread commitment to sustainable practices
| Nov 12, 2012
Legrand Shares New Energy Savings Resources Aimed at Promoting Better Energy Management
Company Announces the First in a Set of Comprehensive Resources to Help Companies Take Steps to Improve Energy Performance
| Sep 11, 2012
New York City releases first energy benchmarking data for private buildings
City is first in U.S. to disclose private-sector building energy data from a mandatory benchmarking policy.
| Jul 12, 2012
Chicago Public Schools names Lend Lease team as construction manager
Under this Capital Improvement Program, the Lend Lease team will be responsible for renovation and life safety work at over 100 Chicago Public Schools across the City.
