Green Building

"Green building" refers to good design and management practices in all phases of building construction and operation to promote a healthy environment and energy efficiency.  The leading organization for developing and promoting green building principles is the U.S. Green Building Council, a broad coalition including representation from the construction industry, the financial sector, government, and public interest organizations.

Green building and health care come together in the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC). This toolkit provides guidance to integrate enhanced environmental health principles and practices into the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of healthcare facilities. This guide has already played an important role in spurring development of healthier building materials and gives the healthcare industry a leadership role in bringing health issues to green design. The Green Guide for Health Care is available as a free download (registration required).

The U.S. Green Building Council, (USGBC) has played a leading role in developing and promoting green building principles in the US broad coalition including representation from the construction industry, the financial sector, government, and public interest organizations. The USGBC and GGHC are working cooperatively to integrate the principles developed in the Green Guide in to a health care specific version of the USGBC’s third party certified LEED program.

The Healthy Building Network provides extensive information on green building topics specific to the healthcare sector.

The following information is excerpted from the EPA Sector Notebook Profile of the Healthcare Industry: 

"Healthcare institutions are increasingly embracing green building goals driven by several important factors: public health, market competitiveness, operation costs, and social responsibility.  HBN is a national network of green building professionals, environmental and health activists, socially responsible investment advocates, and others who are interested in promoting healthier building materials as a means of improving public health and preserving the global environment.  For more information, contact HBN at (202) 898-1610 or the web site at http://www.healthybuilding.net/healthcare/index.html."

Please also see the HBN Healthy Building News Archive.

Green Building State Resource Locator

"Green building" refers to good design and management practices in all phases of building construction and operation to promote a healthy environment and energy efficiency. CICA Center has developed resources to help you locate green building information, including this state resource locator.  This particular resource identifies state-specific information.  We hope to continually expand this resource with information provided by users, like you.  You can contribute information by completing the form found on your state page.

Click on a state's initials to locate resources
or use the pulldown below the map.