In the wake of an extended global economic slump, local communities are pushing ahead and expanding their green building programs. More than one in five U.S. cities with populations greater than 50,000 surveyed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) report having a policy to promote green buildings, accounting for more than 53 million people. The AIA initially conducted this survey in 2007 for a Local Leaders in Sustainability report that has just been updated. The new report, Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment, is an inventory of policies and best practices intended to help policymakers advance a more sustainable legislative agenda for growth and development.

Washington, D.C. - With the encouragement of Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) conducted a study to determine how many jobs in the design and construction industry could be created if the American Clean Energy Security Act (H.R. 2454; also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill) is enacted. The study analyzes two provisions included in the House-passed Act, the State Energy and Environment Development (SEED) program and the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods (GREEN) program.

 

According to a recent study recently released by McKinsey & Company and sponsored in part by the USGBC, investing in energy efficient buildings combined with other non-transportation initiatives can reduce energy consumption in the United States by 23 percent by 2020. This, in turn, would amount to annual savings of $130 billion or $1.2 trillion total, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 1.1 gigatons, and the creation of 900,000 new jobs.