Steve Rizer, Editor
Green Building Insider
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the organizations believe will "further green building and promote carbon emissions reductions in Italy and worldwide."
Under the agreement, GBC Italia is expected to become the first organization in the European Union that intends to implement the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. In the GBC Italia version of LEED, local standards and codes will be referenced, Italian-specific units will be incorporated, and alternative compliance paths will be provided as appropriate to account for regional variances and contexts. The MOU also calls for collaboration between the two green building councils through the sharing of tools, research, and information involving green building.
"The collaboration of USGBC and GBC Italia offers an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in this time of unparalleled environmental awareness," USGBC President Rick Fedrizzi said. "Green buildings address a number of important global issues, but we can't do it alone. Working collaboratively is a critical step toward reaching global solutions."
"LEED has been very successful in the U.S. in transforming the approach to building design, construction, and operation," said Mario Zoccatelli, presidente del GBC Italia. "After reviewing all of the existing green building tools out there, we ultimately chose LEED because of USGBC's history of innovation and its flexible approach."
More than 32,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising more than 9.6 billion square feet of construction space in 50 U.S. states and 114 countries.
GBC Italia has more than 330 members, all leaders in different positions of the Italian and international building sector. More than 70 projects are registered in Italy, and there are approximately 100 LEED Professional credential holders.
GBI was unable to obtain additional details about the MOU at press time.
