The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today, on the main stage at its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, a $3 million grant from Google that will catalyze the transformation of the building materials industry and accelerate the creation of healthier indoor environments.
"Healthy, non-toxic building materials are a critical component in green building," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "Fostering awareness of the materials we put into our buildings is of paramount importance, since many materials can link to a host of environmental and health issues. Working with Google enables us to broaden our efforts in the materials industry as we prepare for the next version of the LEED green building program, LEED v4. This updated rating system will paint a more complete picture of materials and products, enabling project teams to make more informed decisions."
"The idea for this project emerged from our own work at Google, where we're committed to creating the healthiest work environments possible that help employees perform at their best," said Anthony Ravitz, Google's Green Team Lead. "USGBC has a deep background in spearheading research, developing a rating system spanning the globe and engaging with the many stakeholders in the building industry, making them the perfect partner to help spur real change on the healthy materials front."
The grant will focus on three areas that will spur the creation of healthier indoor environments and encourage market transformation in the building materials industry: supporting research on building materials and health, developing new transparency tools and engaging stakeholders from across the industry.
"Improving the indoor environment, increasing materials transparency and advancing the understanding of materials' impact on health are critical targets for the LEED program as it continues to evolve," said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President, LEED, USGBC. "Ultimately, we are looking to create overall benefit for the environment and for human health."
The new initiatives will be developed over the next two years. +
Related Stories
| Feb 24, 2012
Skanska hires Tingle as senior VP and national director for its Sports Center of Excellence
Tingle has worked in the architecture and construction industries for more than 30 years, and for the last 23 years, he has focused primarily on large-scale sports construction projects
| Feb 23, 2012
Federal budget cuts put major building projects on hold
A plan to build the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas is among several major building projects in jeopardy after the Obama administration’s 2013 budget was unveiled. The budget would cut all construction spending for the facility.
| Feb 23, 2012
Regulators investigating construction accident at World Trade Center
The New York Port Authority and the city’s fire and building departments are investigating an accident at the World Trade Center construction site in lower Manhattan after a crane dropped steel beams that fell about 40 stories onto the truck that delivered them.
| Feb 22, 2012
ACI BIM manual for cast-in-place concrete in development
The improved communication, coordination, and collaboration afforded by BIM implementation have already been shown to save time and money in projects.
| Feb 22, 2012
Siemens earns LEED certification for Maryland office
The Beltsville facility, which also earned the ENERGY STAR Label for energy performance, implemented a range of energy efficiency, water conservation and sustainable operations measures as part of the certification process.
| Feb 22, 2012
CISCO recognizes Gilbane for quality construction, design, and safety
The project employed more than 2,000 tradespeople for a total of 2.1 million hours worked – all without a single lost-time accident.
| Feb 22, 2012
Perkins Eastman expands portfolio in China and Vietnam
Recent awards, project progress signal ongoing commitment to region.
| Feb 22, 2012
Suffolk awarded Boston post office renovation project
Renovation of art deco landmark will add 21,000 square feet of retail and 110 new parking spaces.
| Feb 21, 2012
Top 10 trends in commercial lenders’ environmental due diligence
EDR offers free webinar on February 22, 2012 at 1 p.m.