Green Building Initiative (GBI) President Jerry Yudelson attended an event at the White House on Monday, designed to highlight the Obama Administration's commitment to promoting building projects that use green materials and that also support jobs and rural communities.

Titled the "White House Rural Council Workshop - Building with Wood: Jobs and the Environment," the event was chaired by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack. Yudelson's attendance supported the Administration's efforts to demonstrate how use of domestic products can support green building while enhancing job growth and protecting the environment.

The Administration highlighted how use of sustainably and responsibly harvested wood as a structural material in commercial buildings creates jobs, supports rural communities, and ensures continued investment in working forests, which are important carbon stores for North America.   

Yudelson said that he presented the Secretary with information on how the Green Building Initiative is promoting the goals of the workshop.

"Our focus is not on wood construction per se, but more importantly on its role in carbon sequestration," Yudelson said. "This is about education. With more information on how our choices impact the environment and markets we can make better informed decisions. GBI continues to support with our Green Globes rating system the use of life-cycle assessment and encourages design teams to consider a range of environmental impacts when designing a building, whether using wood, concrete or steel."

The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards Developer dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices. The organization is the sole U.S. provider of the Green Globes and federal Guiding Principles Compliance building certification programs.

Learn more about GBI at www.thegbi.org.