Engineered Wood Journal - Spring 2009 - (Page 12) From Movement To Mandate W The Growth of Green Building Legislation by Mark Rossolo hile green building may once have been a fringe movement embraced by a select few architects and building owners, it is fast becoming common practice—and is now being driven not only by design and building professionals looking to make their projects more sustainable, but by a staggering increase in government legislation. Whether it’s a city councilman, state representative or United States Senator, politicians are under pressure to facilitate the adoption of green building practices. In political speak, proposing a green building policy is viewed as “win-win” for legislators, who see it as a way to (among other things) address climate change, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and ensure that our children have a better place to live—all while saving the government money through energy and water efficiency. It also allows elected officials to position themselves in the eyes of the public as environmentally conscious and willing to act on important issues for the benefit of their community and country. For these and other reasons, there has been an explosion of legislative activity, particularly at the state and municipal levels. In 2007, for example, 32 states debated more than 170 bills related to some aspect of green building, an already incredible number that grew to 33 states and more than 200 bills in 2008. The municipal numbers are just as impressive, as nearly every major population center across the country, large or small, has looked at ways to increase green building practices through public policy. For its part, the federal government has recently debated a number of bills regarding energy efficiency in schools and other buildings, and agencies—such as (but not limited to) the Department Engineered Wood Journal • Spring 2009 12
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.