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USGBC - Not the only player in town!

The proposed UKGBC will be modeled on the highly successful USGBC. So how does America deliver sustainable building technologies through these councils? The US Green Building Council, is divided into 52 ‘Chapters’ spread around the US, not all by state. There are also independent organisations who work along side green initiatives such as ‘Build Green’; a program which sets out to encourage growth of green building technologies. There are competing Councils, such as the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, (SBIC) based in California. There is also a government department, The US General Services Administration who have joined the USGBC; the first to do so. Individual governors in the US have also set out their own initiatives, like Edward Rendell and his ‘Governors Green Government Council’. So despite the USGBC’s obvious talent for bringing in new members and being a leader in sustainable building practices, it’s not the only player in town.

We asked Helen English, head of the SBIC how she felt about the USGBC. Having been one of the founder members back in 1980, she feels confident that the USGBC is doing a good job, which does not conflict with the work of the SBIC. She says her organisation is not competing for members as you might expect. In fact SBIC and USGBC are members of each others organisations. She says ‘We are interested in "advancing a 'whole building' approach to design" (TM) which includes always keeping sustainability IN CONTEXT with other design attributes such as security, aesthetics, health/productivity, etc.  Consequently our vision of a truly 'high performance' building or home would be one that is much more than just sustainable, it would be aesthetic, accessible, cost effective, durable, flexible, productive/ healthy, safe, secure AND sustainable’.

The movement in America seems fractured. Not all roads lead to the USGBC and many organizations are going it alone. To bring a coherent message to the building industry would it be wrong to expect all efforts to be coordinated, or does it go against the free market ethos, to expect a coherent front? The lessons that could be learnt here in the UK are clear though. Will a UKGBC be able to pull together all the players into a coherent force, and secondly should they? Isn’t it a bit too left wing to expect a centralised council?

David Strong of BRE who has set himself the task of establishing a UK Green building Council, is hoping to bring 30 major players together. But as we’ve seen with the Sustainability Task Group, if they get it wrong who would offer a strong enough, alternative voice? Also the major players might end up being a cartel of multinationals trying to look and sound green, but setting their own rules for industry. If they are setting the standards, they would not be inclined to bring about tough regulations which tap into the energy saving technologies now on offer. The UKGBC should be able to provide information and support to wider range of viewpoints, but with big business lining up to join, is this going to be possible?

1. The Governors Green Government Council: www.gggc.state.pa.us/gggc/site/default.asp

2. US General Services Administration: www.gsa.gov

3. SBIC: www.sbicouncil.org/

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