Articles About U.S. Green Building Council

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the perceived cost benefits of green building include the following: Operating costs decrease of 13.6 percent for new construction and 8.5 percent for existing buildings; Building value increases 10.9 percent for new construction and 6.8 percent for existing buildings; Occupancy increases of 6.4 percent for new construction and […]

President Barack Obama recently visited Penn State University to introduce his Better Buildings Initiative, an incentive program intended to stimulate energy-efficient retrofits to existing commercial buildings.  The initiative is also designed to create jobs in the construction and manufacturing industries. Despite the long-term economic benefits of energy efficiency, many building owners often run into difficulty […]

Who is the recipient of the inaugural Mayor Richard M. Daley Legacy Award for Global Leadership in Creating Sustainable Cities?  It’s none other than retiring Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley himself. Writing in the Chicago Tribune, architecture critic Blair Kamin said “Chicago’s lame-duck mayor, famous for his green thumb and his iron fist, will receive […]

Ten years after Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered a roof garden planted on top of Chicago’s City Hall, the city has 500 green roofs downtown and scattered throughout its neighborhoods.  According to Department of Environment spokesman Larry Merritt, green roofs cover approximately seven million SF, although that represents less than one-tenth of one percent of […]