Countries around the world are participating in World Green Building Week, an annual event that draws attention to the importance of creating healthier, more sustainable buildings and communities. Each year during the third week of September, Green Building Councils and their members mark this occasion with events and activities that reflect the diversity of their cultures and industries.
Green Building Councils (GBCs) are member-based organizations that partner with industry and government in the transformation of their buildings and their communities towards sustainability. On the ground in over 80 countries, GBCs create change in their local markets as a way to globalize environmentally and socially responsible building practices.
“In communities around the world, green building is offering real, measurable results in humanity’s efforts to reduce our global carbon footprint and promote environmental, economic and social prosperity,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of LEED, USGBC. “In an increasingly connected world, we need to work together to embrace the challenge of developing a system that unites us in a global community, while recognizing our local realities.”
During World Green Building Week 2011, the USGBC was recognized at the Clinton Global Initiative Conference (CGI) for its work through Project Haiti. With its project partners HOK, Adaptive Building Solutions, and Haiti’s Foundation Enfant Jesus, USGBC is currently engaged in a campaign to support the construction of a LEED-certified orphanage and children’s center. Once built, the project will serve as both a powerful symbol of hope for the future and a model of sustainable building practices upon which to rebuild their nation.
