This morning at USGBC’s Annual Greenbuild Conference and Expo in New Orleans the marketing special set: Marketing + Sustainability: The Tools & Tips to Tell Your Story, panelists discussed ways to establish credibility in the world of sustainability marketing. I had the pleasure of sitting on the panel with leaders from multiple industries including Gabe Wing, Herman Miller; Katie Weeks, Institute for Market Transformation and Jenny Rushmore, Trip Advisor. Our panel discussed how...

Is your office a “Best Place to Work”—and a green one? The two should go together. The World Green Building Council and USGBC Platinum-level member JLL’s Health, wellbeing and productivity in offices: The next chapter for green building report provides “overwhelming evidence” that indoor air quality, thermal comfort, access to natural light and other elements of green office design make employees not only feel better, but also more productive. According to...

This week tens of thousands of leaders from the green building movement are descending on New Orleans for Greenbuild 2014, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building.  During Greenbuild, USGBC will be working to empower the passionate members of the green building community to take action to support important green building policies that ultimately help strengthen our economy. Through our extensive grassroots support infrastructure, we’ll be engaging...

USGBC Pro Reviewers are experts in green building and sustainability who review courses on Education @USGBC. They provide detailed feedback to the course creators, as well as reviews on the course page. This feedback helps the course creators improve their education and helps other users decide whether or not the course is a good fit for them. Meet our USGBC Pro Reviewer Micaela Smulevich Who's your employer? Green Buildings Sustainability Consulting Group What's your position?...

Last night my schedule forced me to miss the USGBC volunteer parade down South Peters from the Convention Center to the reception at Howlin’ Wolf.  But when I eventually got there an hour or so later, things were (as you might expect of any place with a name like that) absolutely jumping. And who were among the first people I saw? Joel Ann Todd, Tim Cole and the Jason Dunlop.   And seeing those three made me realize, yet again, how incredible the level of talent is in our...

I have to be honest, I found myself getting choked up as we flew in to New Orleans this week and I looked down at this amazing city in this part of the country that remains like no other. As I looked out the plane’s window, I recalled how just ten years ago at Greenbuild in Atlanta, a small group of USGBC volunteers—the crisis and the aftermath of Katrina still playing out in real time—got together, recruited some key New Orleans residents, and pieced together a road map from...

We are excited to announce that the Social Equity Pilot Credits received the most likes, shares, and comments and has been named this year's USGBC Malcolm Lewis Volunteer IMPACT! Award winner. The Social Equity Pilot Credits will be recognized at the Leadership Awards Luncheon at Greenbuild this week. Over 15% of Americans live in poverty. One of our most effective tools to address inequities in the building world is through LEED. Nine volunteers—Susan...

We’ve always said that LEED is more than a collection of credits—it’s a system supported by a suite of built-in support mechanisms. In the case of LEED v4 for Neighborhood Development, we’ve redesigned the supporting infrastructure to further strengthen the rating system. The result is a new approach to certification for LEED ND project teams supported by an updated set of tools: New LEED ND reference guide (available Oct 21, 2014) Updated Documentation forms So...

All this week we will be bringing you video coverage, interviews and Q&As from this year's Greenbuild. Check out our recap from yesterday's pre-Greenbuild summits as well as the following interviews with industry leaders about their cutting edge ideas and technologies.  Here's your Greenbuild daily download:  Greenbuild 2014 Interview with Michael Fletcher, BASF BASF is a global leader in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, committed to constant improvements...

Today, from the Materials and Health Summit at the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, USGBC announced the forward plan for the newly constituted Supply Chain Optimization Working Group. The working group was approved by USGBC’s LEED Steering Committee (LSC) last week, and it's members include chemical suppliers, building product manufacturers, design teams, producers of raw materials, academics and government entities along with USGBC staff. “The formation of the...

Backed by Smart Building Technology from Honeywell, USGBC’s LEED Dynamic Plaque Helps Measure and Improve Ongoing Facility Performance WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Oct. 21, 2014) – USGBC and Honeywell today announced they are working together to deepen facility sustainability by integrating USGBC’s new LEED® Dynamic Plaque™, a near-real-time monitoring tool with integrated building automation technology from Honeywell to measure and provide performance feedback to help...

The USGBC call is now open for self-nominations of qualified volunteers to serve on the Integrative Process Working Group. Apply today through Nov. 23, 2014 To be eligible, applicants must be employees of a USGBC member organization. The working group will need representation from companies with expertise in facilitation, project coordination and stakeholder engagement.  While integrative process has always been at the core of LEED, the Integrative Process credits in LEED...