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
Green | Oct 12, 2016
Acting as a giant air purifier, this tower could help solve China’s pollution problem
The 23-ft tall tower operates almost entirely on wind energy.
Codes and Standards | Oct 10, 2016
New sustainable landscape development and management credential launched
GBCI offered the first testing opportunity Oct. 3 at Greenbuild
Codes and Standards | Oct 6, 2016
Obama administration will spend $80 million for smart cities initiatives
The technology is targeted for climate, transportation, resiliency.
Lighting | Oct 6, 2016
Healthcare systems lighting their way to savings
There has been a rapid improvement and availability of LED products as primary light sources in most healthcare facility applications.
Green | Oct 6, 2016
AIA Report: Mixed results in design projects meeting 2030 Commitment targets
More buildings are meeting certain goals, but energy intensity reduction results have flat lined
Green | Oct 6, 2016
GBCI announces arc, a new technology organization to measure and compare green building performance
Arc is a platform that will allow any building to participate and immediately start measuring performance, make improvements, and benchmark against itself.
Green | Oct 4, 2016
The Clear Orb is one of the shortlisted projects for 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative
Designed by Heerim Architects & Planners, The Clear Orb would produce just under 600 million gallons of clean water annually.
Sustainability | Oct 4, 2016
One World Trade Center officially awarded LEED Gold certification
The skyscraper received the certification despite a setback caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Industry Research | Oct 3, 2016
Structure Tone survey shows cost is still a major barrier to building green
Climate change, resilience and wellness are also growing concerns.
Sustainability | Oct 3, 2016
Gensler-designed auto dealership to become world’s first to reach net zero
Toyota of Corvallis has also joined a few other Toyota dealerships around the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
