Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals

The U.S. Green Building Council reports that Chicago has the highest number of square feet of LEED-certified green building projects nationally with 71 million square feet.  

The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.

The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects unveiled "Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Special Report from Sundance," which outlines a five-point national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives.

A virtual tour of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Platinum HQ is available. The tour features embedded videos, audio podcasts, and information on building materials and products used throughout the space. By taking the virtual tour, professionals can earn GBCI Continuing Education hours for the LEED AP with specialty and LEED Green Associate credentials.

Can you name the nation’s greenest K-12 school? How about the greenest commercial building? If you drew a blank, don’t worry because our friends at EarthTechling have all the information on those two projects. Check out the Hawai’i Preparatory Academy’s Energy Lab on the Big Island and Cascadia Green Building Council’s new Seattle headquarters.

The Los Angeles Business Council's study on the feasibility of installing solar panels on the city’s multifamily buildings shows there's tremendous rooftop capacity, and that a significant portion of that rooftop capacity comes from buildings in economically depressed neighborhoods. Solar installations could therefore be used to create jobs, lower utility costs, and improve conditions for residents in these neighborhood.

“Zero and Net-zero Energy Buildings + Homes,” a 64-page White Paper that proclaims “the next frontier in the green building movement,” will be the topic of a 1-hr Q&A with 6 “NZEB” experts at the AIA Conference + Expo, Friday, May 13, 11 a.m. to 12 noon, at the Morial Convention Center (Level 2, Room R06), New Orleans.

The 40,000-word report from Building Design+Construction provides a road map for the $350 billion design, construction, and real estate industry to develop “net-zero” buildings and homes that generate as much energy as they use, such as the new Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colo.

More jurisdictions are utilizing the new International Green Construction Code (IGCC) as a tool to address sustainable construction for new and existing buildings.  Fort Collins, Colo., and Kayenta Township, Ariz., are the most recent in a series of local and state governments that have adopted the IGCC,