US Green Building Council | 9 nomic and environmental benefits. Despite the tumultuous era of economic downturn, Platt says the USGBC has been at the center of an “oasis of good news.” Green building is on the rise, he says, because it saves people money, saves energy, and helps local economies. Hundreds of local governments have enacted various policies to promote green building, and LEED is now being used in more than 130 countries. “It feels like we’ve been riding a wave of engagement with the issues, not only in terms of building, but a wave of corporate responsibility and bipartisan support... we’ve seen a very positive evolution and there’s a lot of excitement as we look toward the future,” says Platt. As he considers the future, Platt says he anticipates USGBC will find more opportunities to help buildings lead on performance and health. To put the former in proper context, Platt explains that in the past, the USGBC primarily served to encourage green building practices. As those practices have been so exceedingly embraced, the USGBC is now in a position to provide greater insight into the benefits of green building. In the beginning, when such practices had yet to be widely adopted, the USGBC could only provide, what was essentially, theoretical evidence of the cost-savings, efficiencies and environmentally-sensitive qualities they were espousing in this building technique. Of course, over time, projects became the proof that demonstrated the benefits, and the full measure of such evidence is posing a new opportunity for the USGBC to deepen its reach. “Our standards have been around for twelve years now, and in the past, we were there when a building was about to be built, or just built. What we didn’t have yet was Roger Platt - Senior Vice President
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