Olympic Village Gets LEED Gold Certification

Washington, DC, Aug. 18, 2008--Athletes in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games are staying at a first-of-its-kind, environmentally friendly Olympic Village.

The plan for the village, the temporary home to 17,000 athletes from around the world, has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) under its pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development certification program.

The Beijing Olympic Village is the first Olympic Village to receive LEED certification, and as part of the pilot program, it is one of only eight developments – and the first international project – to thus far achieve certification under LEED for Neighborhood Development.

Nearly 240 projects from 39 states and six countries are now registered to participate in the pilot program. The information learned during the pilot program will be used to make further revisions to the rating system and certification process, and the resulting draft rating system will be posted for public comment before it is submitted for final approvals and balloting.

LEED for Neighborhood Development integrates the principles of smart growth, New Urbanism and green building into a comprehensive system for neighborhood design.

The LEED-Gold certification of the Olympic Village is the latest example of USGBC’s commitment to engaging the people of China in USGBC’s vision of buildings and communities that regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation.

Most recently, USGBC has supported the formation of the new China Green Building Council and anticipates working with the China GBC as it grows and continues to promote sustainable, healthy building practices in a country that builds nearly half the world’s new buildings every year.