USGBC & Building Leaders Meet At White House to Discuss Resilient Design

Washington, DC, May 12, 2016—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and an array of national building industry leaders gathered this week at the White House’s national conference on resilient building codes to discuss the economics and community benefits of resilient design, and to consider actions that the federal government and the private sector can take to advance resilience in the built environment.

“While we can do our best to slow the increase in climate volatility, we also have to focus on the fact that our homes, buildings, campuses, and communities must ultimately withstand the forces of nature,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO & founding chair, USGBC. “A focus on resiliency is a necessary companion to sustainable thinking and strategies in real estate and urban development.”

Senior administration officials from the White House, the U.S. Army, the Department of State, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development joined mayors, scientists and industry leaders on panels highlighting opportunities for, and challenges to, institutionalizing resilience more comprehensively in buildings and infrastructure across the country.

On the heels of the White House’s 2016 Climate Action Summit, where the President invited key climate actors from across the country and around the globe to make tangible progress on the implementation of the recent Paris Agreement at COP 21, this week’s summit also called on participating organizations to pledge to continue and expand their work on resilience in the context of a changing climate.