Advocacy

Advocating for green buildings and communities.

1771 N Street NW | LEED Gold | Photo: Stream Realty Partners

Sustainability and green building are projected to see growth for years to come, with its influence reaching across the U.S. economy, generating significant environmental and social benefits. Backed by community, research and tools, we use advocacy, partnerships, and campaigns to drive development of green buildings and communities.

Our advocacy goals:

Ensure that taxpayer dollars being spent on federal, state and municipal buildings are investing in buildings that cost less to build and operate and are healthier for people.
Ensure that lawmakers and elected officials have access to current and cutting-edge information on green building and resilient cities and communities so they can make the best decisions on behalf of their constituents.
Ensure that policies incentivize and encourage the use of LEED and other resources that create economic, environmental and social value.
Leverage our external engagements and contacts to promote organizational reputation and relevance for resilience, equity, climate, and quality of life.

Advocacy priorities

Discover green building-related and LEED-specific policies across the U.S. in the USGBC Policy Library. The library shares details on policies at the federal, state and local levels that incentivize, require or otherwise promote green building measures, including LEED.

Year in review: 2021 was a busy and productive year for USGBC’s advocacy efforts. Dominating the year was the arrival of the Biden administration and congressional activity on COVID-19 recovery and infrastructure, even as many states and cities pushed ahead with climate-focused building policies. We are grateful for the ongoing partnerships with USGBC member volunteers and organizational allies that help amplify this critical work.

Government leadership by example

Federal, state and local governments recognize the importance of leading by example in energy and green building policy. Improving resource efficiency represents an enormous opportunity to save taxpayer money, save energy and water, and drive investment and jobs. At every level, we see policies and practices that benefit the broader building industry.

Private sector market transformation

Governments help support robust private sector green building activity with policies to incentivize building green and removing unnecessary barriers. At USGBC, we promote policies that foster market transformation, including structural incentives like density and height bonuses and expedited or no-cost permitting, information mechanisms like benchmarking, and financial incentives like tax credits, grants and low interest loans.

Raising the bar on codes and regulations

Building codes and regulations play an integral role in fostering the progress necessary to realize far-reaching and truly sustainable buildings and communities. States and cities have critical roles in improving baseline-building requirements, and in establishing policies that promote best-in-class building strategies and practices. We work to support this transformation and to help align baseline building code with above-code green building certification using LEED, to facilitate seamless improvement.

Community-wide sustainability

Sustainable communities look beyond a single building and holistically use smart design and construction and operation practices to enhance community connectivity and wellness and reduce environmental impacts, from effects on local waterways to contributions to global warming. Public policy supporting sustainable communities can also unlock economic growth and provide important opportunities to build in-demand skills in the construction workforce. Through our work with Resilient Communities for America and other partnerships, we support planning, design, and building strategies that help communities build better, more resilient futures.

View all advocacy resources.

Get involved

Join the Advocacy Working Group for timely updates and opportunities to get involved. Whether it's a five-minute call or email to your elected representative or jumping in to help on an Advocacy Day, we appreciate our volunteers and everything they do to further the green building mission and vision. View the Advocacy Working Group brief to learn more and join the working group.