US

An Italian building organisation has become the first to implement the LEED green building rating system in an agreement signed yesterday.

The memorandum of understanding between the Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) and US Green Building Council (USGBC) will see an Italian version of the building rating system implemented.

The GBC Italia version of LEED will reference local standards and codes, include Italian-specific units and outline alternative compliance paths appropriate to the region.

The agreement will also see the two building councils share tools, research and information about green building.

The LEED green building certification system currently covers over 32,000 projects across the whole of the US and in 114 countries around the world.

Mario Zoccatelli, president of GBC Italia, says that the organisation chose to adopt LEED because of USGBC’s “history of innovation and its flexible approach”.

“LEED has been very successful in the US in transforming the approach to building design, construction and operation,” he adds.
USGBC senior vice president of LEED, Scot Horst, believes that this type of agreement is crucial to improving the quality of the built environment on the widest possible scale.

“Green buildings address a number of important global issues but we can’t do it alone. Working collaboratively is a critical step towards reaching global solutions,” says USGBC president and CEO Rick Fedrizzi.

For further information:
www.usgbc.org
www.gbcitalia.org

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