MWCOG Regional Green Building Program Honored

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The National Capital Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has awarded the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments its 2008 Sustainability Award.

The award honors private-industry outreach initiatives or public legislation and programs in the metropolitan Washington area that advance or promote the responsible and sustainable development of infrastructure, the built-environment or the conservation of natural resources.

Last year, COG’s Intergovernmental Green Building Group released its report, Greening the Washington Metropolitan Region’s Built Environment, which explored issues related to building practices and the region’s environment. It reviewed best practices and green building standards, and offered recommendations that local governments and COG could implement to improve the performance of buildings region-wide.

On December 12, 2007, the COG Board of Directors approved the report and its recommended green building standards for the construction of new government and commercial structures that it hopes will be adopted by all local jurisdictions.

The standards endorsed by the COG Board were set by the U.S. Green Building Council and establish a four-level point system for rating new construction based on whether the buildings use environmentally friendly designs that are, for example, energy efficient, control storm-water runoff reduce construction-related waste. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards were developed to reduce the environmental impact of buildings.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is the nation’s oldest engineering society. The ASCE-National Capital Section was founded in 1916 and represents more than 3,000 local civil engineers.