Green Building Council honors local chapters

The U.S. Green Building Council has recognized seven of its nearly 80 local chapters with its annual Chapter Awards of Excellence. The awards are given to chapters that excel in providing local green building outreach and education, and in fostering best practices among the green building community.

{loadposition position10}

For Excellence in the Advocacy and Influence, the Cincinnati Regional Chapter was honored for cultivating a strong relationship with Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory, who has since signed on to the Mayors' Alliance for Green Schools, and helped move the state of Ohio one step closer to implementing legislation requiring LEED Silver Certification - plus 30 percent energy efficiency - for any state funded project.

For Excellence in the Community (large chapter), the Chicago Chapter was honored for its work on the Urban Open/New Horizons Community Garden project, a collaborative effort with area high school students, community members and local volunteers on the design and construction of a sustainable, indoor/outdoor facility in Chicago's East Garfield Park.

For Excellence in the Community (small chapter), the Vermont Green Building Network was honored for leading an innovative Web site project involving the Vermont Green Home Alliance, which resulted in the launch of a critical resource where individuals from regions throughout the state could interact, educate and share information on various residential rating systems.

The James River Green Building Council in central Virginia received the large chapter award for creating and implementing educational programs that present wide audiences with unique opportunities to get involved, including the "Green Spaces" design competition, LEED workshops and events, eco-building tours and organizational partnerships.

The South Carolina Chapter won the Award of Excellence in Education for a small chapter through the development of high-level, consistent and impactful educational programs that allowed each of the chapter's four branch regions to provide LEED and green building learning and community-building at a grassroots level.

For Organizational Excellence (large chapter), the Delaware Valley Green Building Council was honored for significantly increasing organizational efficiency, transparency and communication, developing a strategic plan to advance program and advocacy goals and investing in a new Web site with a rigorous data-, event- and committee-management system.

For Organizational Excellence (small chapter), the Georgia chapter was honored for its successful merger of the state's two existing entities in Atlanta and Savannah, forming one balanced organization focused on green building market transformation across the entire state of Georgia.

For information, visit www.usgbc.org/chapters.