Business Chief US+CAN Magazine July 2016 | Page 8

PROFILE

How did the USGBC begin , and how did it grow into such a huge organization ?
Rick Fedrizzi , current CEO and founding chair of USGBC , David Gottfried , and Mike Italiano established the council in 1993 . By 1998 , USGBC had successfully developed LEED 1.0 , and it began pilot testing 19 projects .
Following the success of the pilot program , LEED for New Construction saw a public launch in March 2000 . That year , 51 projects participated , and in March 2001 , drawing on lessons learned from the pilot program ,
USGBC launched LEED 2.0 .
Meanwhile , certifications outside the commercial office sector began to sprout . Notable early successes in 2000 included the Kandalama Hotel in Sri Lanka – the first LEED-certified hotel and the first LEED international project – as well as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Phillip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis , Md ., the first project to secure LEED Platinum .
Furthering its movement into new market sectors , USGBC saw the first elementary school – Third Creek Elementary in Statesville , N . C . – achieve LEED Gold in November
Phipps Conservatory Center for Sustainable Landscapes
8 July 2016