About Us

Green roofs and solar arrays top many of the buildings in Battery Park City.

Established in 2002, USGBC New York is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting green building practices and knowledge in New York City and Westchester and Rockland Counties.

We are the premier forum for green building in the New York area, providing education, research, and advocacy as well as programs, events, and networking opportunities for our 1,400 members and the green building community at large. In 2008 we are targeting a number of key initiatives including advocacy, a green construction skills training program, and a green building cost study.

LEED

We promote the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations. LEED provides a common framework, guidelines and certification system to promote integrated, whole-building design practices.

Education

We offer training for industry professionals to become LEED Accredited Professionals, demonstrating their knowledge of integrated design and their capacity to facilitate the LEED certification process. To become a LEED Accredited Professional, you must pass the examination. Visit the Green Building Certification Institute for more information.

USGBC New York Balances Our Carbon Footprint!

As air pollution and global warming continue to emerge as some of the most pressing issues we face today, USGBC New York is doing our part to balance our carbon impact. Working with renewable energy and carbon offset firm Renewable Choice, USGBC New York has estimated our 'carbon footprint' and offset it with renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets from wind farms, small hydro plants and methane capture facilities in the US. This has an environmental impact similar to keeping 122,105 pounds of CO₂ out of the atmosphere. That's like not driving a car 133,303 miles or planting 502 trees!  USGBC New York also follows environmentally preferable purchasing guidelines working with local vendors to source items like 100% post consumer waste paper,  recycled glass containers and dishware and green cleaning supplies. Employees of the chapter are encouraged to use public transportation for their commutes and for travel to and from events. USGBC New York offices also followed the LEED rating system during design and construction installing occupancy sensors and recycling stations, using low VOC paints, sealants and stains and diverting almost all of our construction debris from the landfill.