Green Building Legislation in the News

In the last issue of GBI Insight, we reported on the growing trend for governments to formalize their commitment to green building—and specifically, legislation passed by states such as Arkansas and Maryland encouraging state agencies to achieve high building performance as defined through systems such as Green Globes™ and LEED®.

Since then, two additional states have followed suit:

• Wisconsin passed regulations requiring all state buildings to conform to high environmental and energy-efficiency standards. Both Green Globes and LEED are referenced in the regulations as acceptable under state law.
  
  
• The State of Connecticut passed legislation committing itself to the adoption of green building standards that are consistent with or exceed LEED silver or an equivalent standard, including, but not limited to, a two globes rating under Green Globes.

By recognizing more than one credible tool for sustainable design and assessment, these states are advancing the cause of green building by facilitating competition among rating systems. They’re also encouraging more builders to incorporate green building practices by providing options and allowing them to choose the system that better meets their needs.