The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today applauded the creation of the American High-Performance Buildings Coalition by the American Chemistry Council and others, noting that, after 20 years, it was significant that the representative groups were finally engaging in conversation about the critical importance of green, high performance buildings for America. In response to the announcement of the new coalition, Roger Platt, Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Law at USGBC released the following statement:

"We welcome the announcement of the formation of the American High Performance Building Council, but as Ronald Reagan once said, we will 'trust but verify.'

"Like the newly formed coalition, USGBC also supports the use of green building codes and standards, in addition to third party rating systems like LEED, and has proudly worked with leading code development organizations to co-release the leading mandatory green building codes.

"In the voluntary world of rating systems, LEED is transforming America's commercial real estate market, providing immediate financial benefits to building owners, operators and some of America's most admired companies through a private, voluntary, transparent and democratic process governed by the 15,000 member organizations of the USGBC.

"USGBC knows just how crucial industry participation is to high performance building success. The 1.5 million square feet per day of commercial space we certify would not be possible without the full active participation of leading architects, engineers, builders, contractors and product manufacturers.

"If this coalition is sincere in its interest to advance high-performance buildings over the status quo, we welcome them to the table and sincerely look forward to engaging together to make green buildings more valuable to Americans."