Feature image: The Heritance Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy of the Kandalama Hotel.

On April 6, USGBC celebrates its 30th anniversary. The organization was co-founded in 1993, and USGBC and its members have been at the forefront of green building practice and innovation ever since.

The launch of the green building movement

The 1990s were a time in which the environmental concerns of earlier decades coalesced into a more formal movement. Around the time of USGBC's founding, the American Institute of Architects also created its Committee on the Environment, the Energy Star program was formed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA, and the Clinton administration launched the Greening of the White House initiative.

USGBC's flagship LEED rating system was first launched in 1998, and 19 pilot projects followed. On the heels of the pilot program's success, LEED for New Construction publicly launched in March 2000.

On the same day, 12 pioneering projects earned LEED certification, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, Maryland, which earned the first LEED Platinum certification in the world, and the Heritance Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, which earned the first LEED certification outside the United States.

Accelerating into the future

During a period of strong growth in the late 2010s, rating systems complementary to LEED were added by GBCI to offer more options for project teams in the expanding definition of sustainability: TRUE for zero waste, SITES for sustainable landscapes and PEER for grid reliability, to name a few. USGBC also launched LEED for Cities and LEED Zero, the Center for Green Schools and the Women in Green program, which has become a central element of USGBC events around the world.

USGBC has helped inspire organizations to set and meet ambitious goals for reducing climate impacts and advancing positive health outcomes and community benefits, including social equity. In addition, the increasing urgency of climate change has ramped up companies' commitments; they are no longer content just to cut emissions, but are working diligently toward net zero goals.

In 2023, the growing green movement is attracting more participants and offering more tools and solutions than ever before. It crosses generational divides and unites nations that want a better, safer and more resilient world for their children. At this pace, it's exciting to think of how much we can do together in the next 30 years.

A school with brightly lit windows in the twilight.

The LEED Platinum Dunbar Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Dunbar Senior High School.

USGBC members lead in sustainability

Since USGBC's inception, thousands of organizations have been members, and countless individuals from every sector have been on this journey with us.

Using LEED has been a major strategy for our members in achieving their sustainability goals, and over 108,000 LEED projects have been certified worldwide.

The range of our members is extensive, and each company that has walked the path with us has contributed to the collective know-how, capacity and success of our movement. The achievements that make each one special are too many to name, but here is a brief sample of the kinds of advances we're proud of in our membership:

Carrier, one of the first USGBC members, has a detailed 2030 plan that includes a goal of reducing its customers’ carbon footprint by more than 1 gigaton. Since 2020, the annual report shares, Carrier's adoption of high-efficiency and lower-GWP refrigerant products and avoided food waste has helped its customers avoid approximately 137 million metric tons of GHG emissions.
The City of Austin, another of the first members, has gone on to become certified as a LEED city and to embed nature-based solutions formally into city policy through the SITES rating system. Austin's Climate Equity Plan takes action on the serious issue of communities disproportionately affected by climate change.
Colgate-Palmolive built the world’s first project to achieve LEED Zero certification in all four categories—carbon, energy, water and waste—with its manufacturing facility in Burlington, New Jersey, showing just how green industry can be. Take a look at Colgate's history and its net zero goals.
Turner Construction Company, a USGBC organizational member since 1997, has 1,500 LEED APs and LEED Green Associates on staff. Turner leadership emphasizes education and training for all employees and works to improve their ability to deliver green buildings to their clients. Turner has made a 2030 commitment to reduce the GHG and water consumption of its on-site construction operations by 50%.

Where are we going next? We’re continuing to define and enable green building leadership with LEED v5. We will help drive and validate performance improvement across entire portfolios, to increase the speed and scale of our impact and get closer to achieving our mission of market transformation.

Want to join us? Become a member of USGBC and help us make the next 30 years even better for your community and the planet.

Learn more about USGBC's 30th anniversary

30 years of member accomplishments in green building