The Center for Green Schools at USGBC reached a milestone in 2017: 2,000 LEED-certified schools. The accomplishment shows the huge impact that LEED has on both students and the environment. Each school provides healthy learning spaces, reduces the environmental impact made by buildings and inspires real-world lessons on sustainability. Where we learn matters, and these schools are putting the words into practice.
Kudos to the USGBC for reaching this milestone.
Schools are at the center of communities, where children learn lessons vital to success in the world and people gather for events. In many places, schools are at the forefront of change. Improving school infrastructure can bring communities together by creating a source of pride, improving student performance and offering learning opportunities for sustainable practices.
To honor these efforts made by schools, the Center gathered project descriptions and pictures from schools certified in 2017. We received details on more than 35 projects and over 150 pictures of innovative learning spaces. These schools alone have made improvements in environmental health and sustainability literacy for over 10,000 students. They have made inspiring changes for their communities, and we want to share them through our networks.
To learn more about this program, please click HERE.
Except for the walls, floors usually account for more surface area than anything else in a house, so they have a greater effect on indoor air quality. Adults, children and pets walk, play and sit on them, wear them down and breathe in what they emit for many years. Most tile glazes are water based and use minimal amounts of solvents. Once fired, the tile and glaze are completely fused and there is no possibility of volatile gas emissions.
The choice of building materials is important for sustainable home building because of the extensive network of extraction, processing and transportation they require. Recycled-content materials reuse waste products that would otherwise be deposited in landfills. And use of local materials supports the local economy and reduces the harmful impacts of long-distance transport. 
If you have been faithful to LEED for years, there may be some push back about learning more about The 
CALGreen, the nation’s first statewide green building code, was originally developed in 2008 has been a mandatory part of the building code since January 1, 2011. CALGreen establishes uniform minimum green building standard aimed at reducing the environmental impact of residential, commercial, and public building construction practices.
