Sustainability in the News

US Green Building Council Headquarters - Washington, D.C. Copyright - Vornado Realty Trust

(USGBC Update) August 2009

Platinum USGBC Headquarters is a Living Lab, Showcasing Cutting-Edge Innovations As a member of the USGBC community, you are part of a rapidly growing industry that is truly changing the world. Mirroring that explosive growth, the USGBC staff earlier this year outgrew our old office space in Washington, D.C., and needed to relocate. As the organization that brings together the world's leaders in green building innovation, USGBC needed an office space that set the bar for green design, construction and operations at new heights.

And we succeeded: Thanks to a phenomenal project team and the generous support of our sponsors, USGBC's new headquarters, at 2101 L. St., NW, in Washington, D.C., earned LEED Platinum certification this month, making it the first project to certify under LEED 2009. What's more, the two-story, 75,000-square-foot office space earned 94 of the 110 possible LEED points; that's 14 more than the 80 required for Platinum certification.

The new office space offers USGBC staff a spacious, comfortable, cutting-edge workplace that inspires their passion, supports their dedication, nurtures their health and matches their ideals. And to further our commitment to education and outreach, USGBC will operate out of a headquarters that can double as a living lab, teaching visitors and employees alike the ways that green building is better for occupants, better for business, better for the community and better for the planet.

2) Building Rating System Requirement Raises Concerns (copyright: GreenSource Magazine - McGraw Hill Construction)
http://greensource.construction.com/news/2009/090805rating-system-1.asp

All certified projects must commit to sharing with the U.S. Green Building Council and/or Green Building Certification Institute "all available actual whole-project energy and water-usage data for a period of at least five years."
- LEED 2009 MINIMUM PROGRAM REQUIREMENT 6

3) Some Buildings Not Living Up to Green Label (Copyright: New York Times, August 31, 2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/science/earth/31leed.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

"Mr. Horst, the LEED executive, said that LEED may eventually move toward the E.P.A.'s Energy Star model, which attests to energy efficiency only for the year the label was given, similar to restaurant ratings."
- By Mireya Navarro, NY Times