May 7 2010
It was an historic moment set in a 17th century opera house in Trento, Italy.
What started last fall as an idea during World Green Building Day, culminated with representatives from both the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) designed as a collaborative partnership between the two organizations, furthering green building and promoting carbon emissions reductions in Italy and worldwide.
At the heart of the partnership, GBC Italia will be the first organization in the European Union that has decided to implement the LEED green building rating system. In the GBC Italia version of LEED, local standards and codes will be referenced, Italian-specific units will be incorporated, and alternative compliance paths will be provided as appropriate to account for regional variances and contexts. The MOU also agrees to collaboration between the two green building councils through the sharing of tools, research and information around green building.
“The collaboration of USGBC and GBC Italia offer an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in this time of unparalleled environmental awareness,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. “Green buildings address a number of important global issues but we can’t do it alone. Working collaboratively is a critical step towards reaching global solutions.”
“The concept behind green building: building smarter and saving money is also critically important to the multinationals who want to replicate this success in every market across the globe,” added Fedrizzi.
“Harnessing the strengths of partnerships around the world allows us to collectively make a difference in our built environment on a scale that otherwise would not be possible,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of LEED, USGBC.
“LEED has been very successful in the U.S. in transforming the approach to building design, construction and operation,” said Mario Zoccatelli, Presidente del GBC Italia. “After reviewing all of the existing green building tools out there, we ultimately chose LEED because of USGBC’s history of innovation and its flexible approach.”
The LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Over 32,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising over 9.6 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 U.S. states and 114 countries across the globe.
By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for everyone. Building smarter and saving money -- are critically important to the multinationals who want to replicate their success in every market across the globe.
Source: http://www.usgbc.org/