U.S. Green Building Council
LEED for Neighborhood Development 2009 Open for Public Comment

USGBC is pleased to invite the public to comment on the LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System, which integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design. The program is a collaborative effort between USGBC, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

This rating system is built upon the LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Rating System, which nearly 240 projects have been using since July 2007 as part of a successful pilot program. Eighteen projects have been certified. Their invaluable feedback, combined with countless hours of USGBC volunteer time, has produced a more sophisticated, market-responsive rating system.

Any member of the public may submit comments. To view the rating system draft and comment, please go the LEED Rating System Drafts webpage. The public comment period will be open from November 17th through January 5, 2009 at 11:59 PST.

For more information about the LEED for Neighborhood Development program please visit our website.

 

 
Olympic Village Wins Award for 'Green' Design
Associated Press, August 13, 2008
The sprawling Beijing Olympic Village won its own gold medal today for going green.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson presented Chinese officials with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold award during a short ceremony, saying the 160-acre Olympic Village could serve as a future prototype for energy efficiency and environmentally friendly design.
"China's leaders know the development of green buildings is a critical need and the Olympic Village can serve as a model for this development," Paulson said.
The award, based on standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council, is an international benchmark for high performance in "green" design and construction. The village's 42 six- and nine-story residential high-rises, which house more than 16,000 Olympic athletes, are 50 percent more energy efficient than most buildings in Beijing, using solar panels for energy and recycling wastewater for heating and cooling.
"With this award, the Olympic Village is being recognized for its contributions to making this year's Olympics the greenest ever," said Paulson.
Read more.
 

A Dozen U.S. Cities (and Not the Ones You'd Expect) are Taking the Fight Against Climate Change to the Streets
Plenty, August 11, 2008
You've no doubt heard about the "greening" of many American cities, in which mayors, neighborhoods, and citizens are adding more green space, comprehensive recycling service, emissions reduction and energy efficiency programs, bike trails, green buildings, alternative energy, gardens.you name it. The international group Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), which provides cities with the technical assistance to go green, reports growing steadily from its founding in 1990 until 2007, when membership suddenly doubled in a single year to more than a thousand governments worldwide; some 350 of those are in the US, and they're not the usual suspects.
An increasingly diverse cross-section of American cities are taking bold steps and actually reshaping themselves in a new, lower carbon-emitting mold. We looked across the country and chose a handful of cities that are taking the most ground-breaking, innovative approaches to confronting climate change. We looked for initiatives that are practical, relatively easy to implement, and as easy to replicate. The unsung, forward-thinking locales on this list just might surprise you.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - That's right, our green tour starts in the rust belt. Steel town might be the 57th most populous city in the nation, but it ranks number eight in terms of green building (as measured by the amount of LEED-certified floor space in the city). The green building movement traces some of its roots back to this town, where the Green Building Alliance originally formed in the 90s with the help of local philanthropists led by the Heinz family. Local governments saw the writing on the green-built walls and encouraged the movement through zoning incentives that reward green building and investments in new green facilities for conventions and other public uses.
Read more.
 
New Stores are Certifiably 'Green'
RetailWire, August 15, 2008
In July, Office Depot joined a number of other retailers in opening its first "green" store in Austin. Pre-certified to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards by the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), the store uses less energy and water in its daily operations, increases recycling and leaves a much smaller overall environmental footprint than the typical store of its size.

In addition to moral reasons, retailers are "going green" because consumers are demanding green and retailers are recognizing the public relations value. Sustainable design fits with other eco-efforts such as offering discounts to shoppers who bring their own canvas bags and using dry popcorn packing material that can be reused as bird feed. It also supports the sale of an ever-growing array of green products. Finally, many stores undertaking green projects claim there is significant cost-savings potential in the long-term from such projects, mainly from reducing energy and waste.
Read more.
 
U.S. Gives Village a 'Green' Medal
Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2008
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the U.S. and China will deepen their work together on energy policy and environmentally friendly technologies.

"We are working together to develop a way forward," Mr. Paulson said in Beijing, as he presented Chinese officials with an award recognizing the environmentally friendly design of the Olympic Village, where 16,000 athletes are living.

Chinese officials worked closely with the U.S. Department of Energy to design the village, a minicity with 42 six- and nine-story buildings, to top international environmental standards.

"China's leaders know that the development of green buildings is a critical need and the Olympic Village can serve as a model for this," said Mr. Paulson, who created the Strategic Economic Dialogue to foster cooperation between the U.S. and China.
Read more.