USGBC Northern California Chapter Launch California Best Buildings Challenge at CGI America Meeting

USGBC Northern California Chapter Launch California Best Buildings Challenge at CGI America MeetingCHICAGO, Ill. — The U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California Chapter will launch the California Best Buildings Challenge at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America . The meeting is focused on finding solutions that promote economic recovery in the United States. President Clinton and USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chair, Rick Fedrizzi, will join three of the six inaugural commitment participants, Genentech, Google and Prudential Real Estate Investors, on stage to announce the Challenge during the closing plenary of the popular event that draws more than 900 business, non-profit and media participants.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challengeand President Clinton’s pioneering work to promote sustainable buildings, the California Best Buildings Challenge consists of industry-leading firms with a strong California presence that have committed to reduce their building energy, water and waste by 20 percent in two years. Adobe, Genentech, Google, PREI, SAP and Zynga have stepped up to kick off the challenge, collectively committing 5-million-square-feet of building space from their portfolios.

“We are pleased to have these leading-edge organizations on board with this incredibly meaningful challenge,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC. “The California Best Buildings Challenge is raising the bar in terms of what is expected in the realm of corporate sustainability. We are eager to prove that curbing energy and water use and reducing waste by 20 percent in two years is not only possible, but a must-do. The goal is for this type of achievement to become the norm.”

USGBC and its Northern California Chapter are launching the California Best Buildings Challenge as a 2012 CGI America Commitment to Action and are working to inspire other leading companies to sign on. The commitment was selected by CGI America as an exemplary approach to addressing challenges in the clean electricity and efficiency space.

The plenary will be live webcast at cgiamerica.org.