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US States Leading by Example - 9:31 AM
US State's Green Building Policies: A USGBC Review
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has published a report called, Advancing Green Building Policy in the States: 2011 Victories from Alabama to Wyoming which highlights and celebrates the market-transforming green building policymaking through America. Despite the fact that many state legislative advancements were slowed or stalled because of debates over balance sheet issues, there is much to celebrate as green buildings become more commonplace at some level or another throughout the country.
The report notes that there have been advances in the green building industry at the policy level in all 50 states. With a yearbook-style title for the 25 countable wins, here are some of the report highlights:
- California: “Trend Setter” with their Green Building Standards Code.
- Connecticut: “Most Original” with the country’s first state-managed green bank (Clean Energy Finance Investment Authority) to provide government funds for clean energy and efficiency projects.
- Florida: “Friend to All” with their scoring system that favours green buildings when evaluating competitive loans given to affordable housing developers.
- Maryland: “Most Likely to be Published” because of their adoption of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) for all governments throughout the state.
- New York: “Best Looking” for their safe loans program for retrofits and energy efficiency upgrades that allow property owners to repay the loans with energy savings funds.
- Oregon: “Most Popular” as the state with tax credits for retrofit and commercial construction projects. They also received “Most Athletic” for their “cool schools” bill which promotes old school retrofits and repairs to create jobs, reduce operating costs, and developing health environments for kids.
The report is a great read for those looking for some green building inspiration that sparks state-level changes.
