USGBC to Obama Administration:
Yes We Will.
Nation’s Green Building Leader Promotes Green Jobs as the Cornerstone to Reviving and Restoring America’s Economy

In his first full week as president, President Barack Obama is moving swiftly and boldly with the full support of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to chart a new course for our struggling economy – a path that invests in our buildings, from our homes to our schools, and that creates millions of new green-collar jobs and saves Americans billions in energy.

Expanding on its 16 years of work to transform our nation’s buildings and communities, USGBC is engaging closely with the Obama administration to demonstrate that immediate and long-term investments in green building and in the green economy are the down payment needed to restore America’s economic leadership.


From the East Room of the White House on Wednesday morning, President Barack Obama urges support and swift passage of an economic recovery package “so that we can climb our way out of this crisis.”


Whether meeting directly with the administration on its economic recovery plan, providing strategic advice to senior energy and environmental officials on transforming the country’s built environment, or presenting bold new ideas on expanding the green economy, USGBC is advancing green building as a central plank to rebuilding a healthy and sustained economy while putting Americans back to work.


Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, and Valerie Jarrett, a White House senior adviser, after President Barack Obama’s speech Wednesday in support of his economic recovery plan.


“Our member companies across the country provide examples of success to an administration that is seeking new answers and a new direction,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chairman. “USGBC will continue to deliver innovative and deliberative plans of action that will simultaneously create millions of green-collar jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and advance proven opportunities to deliver greener, more energy-efficient buildings.”

Read Rick's public policy ideas in Roll Call »

USGBC is actively monitoring and informing deliberations about the economic recovery package urged by President Obama and now under development in Congress. Even with passage in the House yesterday, the specifics of the plan are not yet final—and are currently the subject of debate and negotiation in both the House and Senate. Nevertheless, the following elements of the packages proposed by both chambers hold particular promise for green building and represent an important recognition of the transformative potential of existing buildings:

• Green Schools: The House and Senate economic recovery plans currently provide multiple billions of dollars for modernization of K-12 and higher education facilities, with preferences or requirements for green improvement projects.
• Green Federal Buildings: Both the House and Senate plans currently include several billion dollars for the General Services Administration’s Federal Buildings Fund, with green or energy efficiency requirements for funded facility projects.
• Weatherization Assistance Program: Both plans would provide multiple billions of dollars for and expand the reach of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides weatherization services to help improve the energy efficiency of homes and enable lower energy bills for low-income families.
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants: The House and Senate plans currently provide multiple billions of dollars for block grant funds for states, localities, and tribes for energy efficiency projects.
• Public Housing: Both packages currently provide several billion dollars for the Public Housing Capital Fund to support improvements to public housing developments, including authority or priority for energy efficiency incentives and projects.
• Green Job Training: Both plans would provide billions of dollars for job training programs, with a preference or requirement that portions of such funds be used to prepare workers for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.

USGBC will continue to support the new administration, working to ensure the final passage of an economic recovery package that taps the full potential of green building to advance the new green economy of the future.

Green Building Creates Jobs, Saves Energy, Saves Money

Message to the Transition: Green Building Creates Jobs, Saves Energy and Saves Money
USGBC Advances Green Building as Essential to Economic Recovery

Facing an unrivaled financial crisis, President-Elect Obama and the new 111th Congress have been moving quickly and decisively to develop a plan to revive the economy through swift passage of the single largest economic recovery package in U.S. history. With a commitment to transformative change aimed at catapulting the U.S. into a position of leadership in the new green economy, the incoming administration plans to make a significant down payment on major green initiatives that will spur innovation, put money back into the wallets of hard-working Americans, and create millions of green jobs.

In ongoing talks with the transition’s energy and environment team since November, the U.S. Green Building Council has advanced vital green building policy priorities that will simultaneously create millions of green-collar jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and advance proven opportunities to deliver greener, more energy-efficient buildings.

Already, the President-Elect issued a recent commitment to make the U.S. a global leader in green, energy-efficient government facilities, calling for an overhaul of 75% of federal buildings in an effort to save $2 billion through energy efficiency alone. On schools, the President-Elect has said repeatedly that green school funding will be another priority in the economic package.

These commitments, as well as other green building solutions for strengthening the economy, are powerful reminders of not just where we need to focus immediate recovery investments, but also reflect the experience and ingenuity that has long characterized the green building movement and the work and mission of USGBC. Throughout the country, our members and green building advocates are transforming our nation’s living, working, and learning spaces—creating buildings and communities that embody our shared environmental, economic, and social values and aspirations.

Informed and energized by these successes, and channeling the momentum generated by its recent Greenbuild conference, USGBC will continue to advance innovative and effective policy solutions to assist Congress and the presidential transition in crafting a bold economic recovery plan.

USGBC remains committed to accelerating the shift to a revived and prosperous green economy, and is spearheading the following initiatives in talks with the transition and Congress as part of an essential, solutions-oriented response to the mounting economic challenges we face today:

• Provide Robust Support for Green Schools
  Across the country, thousands of school buildings suffer the effects of age, lack resources for renovation, and offer unhealthy and unsafe learning and working environments. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide robust funding for school construction and renovation projects that comply with energy efficiency and green building standards, in recognition of existing project backlogs nationwide and the vast environmental and economic opportunities they present. USGBC also proposes the creation of a White House Green Schools Taskforce to unite experts from the federal government, states and localities, the nonprofit sector, and other stakeholders to promote green schools as a component of national education, energy, and environmental policy.

• Create a Revolving Loan Fund to Spur Investment in Green Building
  Mounting environmental challenges and a sluggish economy demand that innovative new incentives be created to trigger and support investment by the private sector in green building strategies and technologies. USGBC recommends the creation of a multibillion-dollar revolving loan fund, accessible to state and local governments, to support retrofitting and green building projects that create energy savings and a positive return on investment. Utilizing a revolving loan fund mechanism whereby loans are repaid through energy and other savings from funded improvements could dramatically reduce future federal budget liability for green initiatives.

• Provide Robust Support for Green Job Training
  With unemployment rates on the rise and the health of both the economy and environment in peril, the need for bold action to revive the American workforce is clear. USGBC recommends full funding of the green job training programs outlined in the Green Jobs Act of the 2007 federal energy law to ensure the preparation of America’s workers for the new green economy. Additional incentives are necessary to encourage private employers to seek training for their existing workforces. As an important first step, USGBC recommends the creation of a new tax incentive for businesses and organizations that pay for their employees to participate in training programs administered consistent with the framework of the Green Jobs Act.

• Fund Green Building Projects in Government Facilities
  Across the country, backlogs of public facility projects highlight the need for significant investment to ensure the safety and sustainability of our nation’s public buildings. These projects represent an important opportunity to demonstrate leadership by example in the use of green building practices and energy-efficient technologies, and to create green jobs for the low-carbon economy of the future. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide significant funding to support green building, retrofitting, and energy efficiency projects in federal facilities, in recognition of the tens of billions of dollars in estimated repair and improvement needs reported by federal agencies. Significant investment in green building and renovation projects in state and local public facilities is similarly essential. Full funding of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program created by the 2007 federal energy law is a critical step to this end.

• Invest Boldly in Green Affordable Housing
  The deteriorating state of many public housing facilities compounds the difficulties posed by a troubled economy. Indeed, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities recently reported that state and local housing agencies owning and operating public housing face an estimated repair and maintenance backlog of $22 billion. USGBC recommends that ample funding be provided for green building and retrofitting projects in public housing facilities. The federal Weatherization Assistance Program offers additional, proven opportunities to create green jobs, reduce energy consumption, and increase the affordability and comfort of America’s homes. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide robust funding for this critical initiative.

USGBC looks forward to working with Congress and the new Administration to promote the uptake of policies and initiatives that advance green building, energy conservation, and healthy, livable communities.

Greening the White House 2009

As President Barack Obama moves into the White House on Jan. 20, he has an opportunity to lead by example by making his new home – the “people’s house” – a model of sustainability. A Greening the White House 2009 initiative, looking to energy efficiency and responsible stewardship of our natural environment, would show that change begins at home. USGBC proposes this initiative for President Obama's first 100 days in office as a way to demonstrate, through a metrics-based educational initiative, how best to improve the energy and environmental performance of America’s homes. No building is better suited to lead the way than the White House. USGBC has a rich history of working with past administrations to improve the environmental performance of the White House while respecting the historic and symbolic nature of this treasured building. Informed by its membership and its experience with its LEED® Green Building Rating System, USGBC looks forward to supporting and advising the Administration on this critical initiative.