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
Sponsored | Coatings | Aug 29, 2016
Making a greener future with biorenewable coatings
Biorenewable and recycled materials help eliminate waste and reduce the use of virgin materials
Green | Aug 29, 2016
Vancouver, B.C., to require zero emissions on new buildings by 2030
No net GHG emissions will be allowed.
Great Solutions | Aug 23, 2016
Visual energy model database demystifies net-zero design
Diamond Schmitt Architects’ ecoMetrics tool allows its designers to quickly analyze solutions based on models from 44 LEED-certified projects.
Energy Efficiency | Aug 17, 2016
Investor Confidence Project aimed at raising trustworthiness on energy efficiency projects
The new initiative screens projects to see if they are investor-ready.
| Aug 3, 2016
GREEN BUILDING GIANTS: Sustainability leaders turn to wellness and technology to get an edge
AEC leaders in green building are stepping up to a higher level of innovation and to be a green leader today, you have to dig deeper into data.
| Aug 3, 2016
Top 60 Green Building Engineering Firms
Jacobs, AECOM, and Arup top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest green building sector engineering and E/A firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 3, 2016
Top 90 Green Building Construction Firms
Turner Construction Co., Clark Group, and Hensel Phelps top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest green building sector construction and construction management firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 2, 2016
Top 130 Green Building Architecture Firms
Gensler, Stantec, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest green building sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Sponsored | Green | Jul 29, 2016
Collaborating for a greener world
As one of the leading manufacturers of coating products in the world, Valspar is setting an example for the entire industry by incorporating best practices and materials into their coatings
Green Specifications | Jul 26, 2016
New Miami Beach law requires LEED certification on projects larger than 7,000 sf
LEED Silver the prescribed standard on buildings larger than 50,000 sf.