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
| Mar 13, 2012
Commercial glazer Harmon expanding into Texas
Company expanding into the Texas market with a new office in Dallas and a satellite facility in Austin.
| Mar 13, 2012
Worker office space to drop below 100-sf in five years
The average for all companies for square feet per worker in 2017 will be 151 sf, compared to 176 sf, and 225 sf in 2010.
| Mar 12, 2012
Improving the performance of existing commercial buildings: the chemistry of sustainable construction
Retrofitting our existing commercial buildings is one of the key steps to overcoming the economic and environmental challenges we face.
| Mar 5, 2012
Moody+Nolan designs sustainable fire station in Cincinnati
Cincinnati fire station achieves LEED Gold certification.
| Mar 1, 2012
AIA: A clear difference, new developments in load-bearing glass
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Mar 1, 2012
7 keys to ‘Highest value, lowest cost’ for healthcare construction
The healthcare design and construction picture has been muddied by uncertainty over the new healthcare law. Hospital systems are in a bind, not knowing what levels of reimbursement to expect. Building Teams serving this sector will have to work even harder to meet growing client demands.
| Feb 28, 2012
Roofing contractors recognized for workmanship
Sika Sarnafil announces Project of the Year winners; competition highlights visually stunning, energy efficient, and sustainable roofs.
| Feb 28, 2012
LUMEnergi names Weinbaum president and CEO
Weinbaum’s experience spans communications, nanotechnology, electronics components, consumer products, semiconductors, software, wireless and lighting.
| Feb 28, 2012
Griffin Electric completes Medical University of South Carolina project
The 210,000-sf complex is comprised of two buildings, and houses research, teaching and office areas, plus conference spaces for the University.