Advice provided by: Brett Gomberg, MBA, LEED Green Associate, Brown Construction Services

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As we begin 2011, the term green building is slowly becoming more synonymous with the built environment.

More than ever, design, construction and facilities management professionals are concerned with how their buildings impact the outside environment while also focusing more and more on the impact of their activities on the people who are affected by their properties, specifically the occupants, residents of surrounding communities and future generations.

U.S. Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and their well-known Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program have largely been responsible for bringing this new environmental awareness to the mainstream. In addition to pushing these issues to the forefront, USGBC also provides solutions to address shortfalls in our built environment while creating a benchmark for the construction industry to measure against.

USGBC's mission is to "transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life." Additionally, the USGBC website also states that USGBC Leadership has developed guiding principles that provide the industry with clarity and continuity while giving the USGBC the ability to respond to a rapidly changing innovative market. This may be the key to successful market transformation.

USGBC does not simply dictate rules and requirements – the organization listens to professionals across the industry and responds by making adjustments to their programs as required. This is evidenced by LEED V3 program initiated in the summer of 2009 through expanded LEED certification options and updates to the Green Building Certification Institute’s (GBCI) rating systems and professional accreditation program. Additionally, USGBC has successfully forged relationships with Federal, state, and local governments to incorporate LEED as an incentive for improved building performance. These influential bodies understand the importance of sustainable design, construction, and more efficient operations. This seems to be having the effect of creating a domino effect trickling down to Architects, Engineers, contractors of all trades, Facility Managers as well as the suppliers and manufacturers. Even the behavior of building occupants has been transformed to expect and look forward to organized recycling programs, green purchasing efforts, and carpool programs. In this sense, the USGBC has done a great job in setting the stage for transforming a market.

Beyond Green Building

The green building movement goes well beyond the built environment. Auto makers are developing and producing more and more fuel efficient vehicles; the food industry is using sustainable packaging and greener, more socially responsible methods of raising live stock and food production methods and, in education curricula, environmental concerns are becoming commonplace from grade school through graduate study. Indeed, my first grader is a member of her school’s environmental club and I recently saw an advertisement for a college offering a Green MBA program.

The way the way we use the term "green" has changed drastically over the years. What used to be a color is now a way of life for us and future generations. Choices we make now on how we construct buildings to how we divert waste from the landfills to the vehicles we drive to what we teach the students throughout their academic career all have an impact on the future generations.

USGBC took the concept of building sustainability mainstream and will continue to do so through the adapting to industry innovation, education, and the provision of free resources to the public.

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