December 27, 2016
USGBC and GBCI took 2016 by storm—it was a big year for green business and green buildings, all driven by the growth of a global community that is committed to driving sustainability across all sectors.
Check out our most popular articles for the year.
- Registration for LEED 2009 closed on Oct. 31, and USGBC shared five things you need to know about the LEED 2009 registration close. USGBC was also ready to support the full transition to LEED v4, with a one-stop shop to LEED v4 education on USGBC's education platform. (Have questions about LEED v4? Learn more.)
- GBCI launched Arc, a state-of-the-art digital platform available at arcskoru.com. Arc allows any project—whether a single building, a community or an entire city—to measure improvements and benchmark against itself and projects around it.
- In December, GBCI launched a new pricing schedule for LEED registration and certification, which includes full access to the Arc platform. View the updated pricing.
- We announced our Top 10 states for LEED in 2015 and shared that 1,633 commercial and institutional projects became LEED-certified within the top 10 states, representing 274.9 million square feet of real estate. We also announced our Top 10 Countries for LEED in 2016 and shared that there are more than 82,000 commercial projects participating in LEED, totaling more than 1.4 billion GSM of space worldwide. An additional 112,000 residential units have been certified under LEED Homes. An estimated 170,000 GSM of space achieves LEED certification every day in more than 162 countries and territories across the globe.
- We developed a Help Center roundup series to provide access to the best answers to our most frequently asked questions. Have a question? Check out the round-up for Membership, Education @USGBC, LEED professional exams, and LEED regional priority credits.
- USGBC membership voted to approve a LEED 2009 energy update, and USGBC also announced a pilot Alternative Compliance Path (ACP) credit that is designed to help eliminate irresponsibly sourced materials—such as illegal wood—from the building material supply chain.
- GBCI further extended its core competencies of certification and credentialing services to organizations that want to advance green business and sustainability practices through the acquisition of the Green Parking Council and the acquisition of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council. Additionally, GBCI launched a new professional credential for the Sustainable SITES Initiative.
- Finally, in 2016 Mahesh Ramanujam was named USGBC President and CEO. He made a pledge to the USGBC community that he will focus on five areas of growth, and he shared thoughts about how green buildings support a thriving, innovative industry. In the wake of the presidential election, Mahesh also shared that USGBC’s plan does not change—and we will continue to "LEED on."
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