Green Building

Where Can I Find Commercial Green Building Resources?

Reflecting Washingtonian's strong commitment to environmental stewardship, the commercial green building sector in Washington is recognized as a national leader. These are some of the many organizations actively supporting green building efforts for commercial and office buildings.

Certification Programs

LEED® (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design)- Introduced in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a voluntary rating system to evaluate a building's environmental performance.

Resources and Information

Cascadia Region Green Building Council - The Cascadia Region Chapter of the U. S. Green Building Council covers Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, and provides regional information on green building resources, trainings, and workshops.

U.S. Green Building Council - The USGBC administers the LEED® (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) rating system to certify a building's better environmental performance.

Betterbricks - Resources for enhancing energy efficiency on commercial building projects. A project of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Center for the Built Environment - University of California's building research site.

Lighting Design Lab - The Lighting Design Lab provides education and technical services on lighting design and efficiency projects.

New Buildings Institute - Design and engineering resources for high-performance office buildings.

Washington State University - The Applied Building Science Program provides building energy efficiency and code technical support.

Public Programs

King County GreenTools Program - GreenTools brings many of King County's green building resources together: commercial and residential green building programs, incentives, building material salvage and reuse, recycling information, and case studies are available here.

City Green Building – The City of Seattle Green Building program supports an active community of green building professionals. There is information here on planning and designing sustainable buildings, regional workshops, talks, and events.

G-Rated - The homepage for The City of Portland's G/Rated green building program, with information on local and regional green building programs, case studies, and events.

U.S Environmental Protection Agency - E.P.A.'s green building site provides an overview of the many economic and environmental advantages of green building.

Whole Building Design Guide - The federal government's high-performance building site, providing information on integrated design and green construction specifications.

Deconstruction, Salvage, and Reuse

Building Materials Reuse Association - BMRA is a non-profit educational organization facilitating building deconstruction and the reuse/recycling of recovered building materials.

Northwest Building Salvage Network - This regional network of businesses, individuals and public agencies is committed to increasing the use of salvaged and reusable building materials.

Used Building Materials Guide - Published by the Northwest Building Salvage Network, this guide provides great tips on building materials salvage.

Recycling

1-800 Recycle- Find recycling and reuse opportunities in your area using Ecology's online database or by calling this toll-free number.

King County Construction Recycling Directory - Organized by material type, this is a guide to recycling opportunities in King County and western Washington.

Please contact Rachael Jamison at (360) 407-6352, or rjam461@ecy.wa.gov for more information.