U.S.

Green Building Council

North Carolina Chapter

ABOUT USGBC (http://new.usgbc.org/about) The mission of USGBC is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC is made up of tens of thousands of member organizations, chapters and student and community volunteers that are moving the building industry forward in a way that has never been seen before. We believe in better buildings; places that complement our environment and enhance our communities. Places that give people better, brighter, healthier spaces to live, work and play. As the vision of USGBC, we believe that buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Through an actively engaged network of over 79 regional USGBC chapter organizations, our reach is nationwide with resources, education and networking opportunities in every community. USGBC is the founding organization behind the LEED certification program for buildings, homes and communities that guides design, construction, operations and maintenance. Today, nearly 50,000 projects are currently participating in LEED, comprising more than 8.9 billion square feet of construction space. LEED is certifying 1.5 million square feet of building space each day in more than 130 countries. USGBC is leading the way in building efficiency and creating a more promising tomorrow. GENERATION GREEN Generation Green is an initiative of USGBC that seeks to provide students, from elementary school to college, with opportunities to make a meaningful impact on the buildings and spaces that shape our lives. Generation Green consists of two separate competitions, the K12 Environmental Stewardship Competition and the collegiate-level Natural Talent Design Competition. The primary goal of the Environmental Stewardship Competition is to educate students about ways to improve their environmental stewardship in these areas of energy, water, waste, and indoor air quality. The competition gives the students the opportunity to learn and develop methods to help a school to reduce energy and water usage, reduce waste and improve indoor air quality. Schools can participate in the competition free of charge. Each category will be judged separately so that schools can choose to participate in one or all of the categories. Special recognition will also be given to schools who create effective media campaigns and find innovative solutions for the issues they seek to address. The competition has grown since its

founding three years ago in the Wake County school district. Plans are underway to expand the program to the rest of the state as early as next year. The 2013 U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) North Carolina Natural Talent Design Competition provides an applied learning experience in the principles of integrated design, sustainability, innovation, and social consciousness, all of which are components of the LEED Green Building Rating System. The USGBC North Carolina Chapters Natural Talent Design Competition calls on those leaders to share their design ideas for projects that better their communities and raise the bar in green building and development. It has existed in its current form for 10 years now, and has hosted as many as 13 colleges and universities during any particular competition. There are many colleges and universities throughout the state competing this year, among them are College of the Albemarle (Manteo), Wake Tech (Raleigh), Forsyth Tech (WinstonSalem), Cape Fear Community College (Wilmington), Appalachian State University, and Wake Forest University. Each team is required to submit a Site plan providing context, Building Section, Floor plan, Illustration of key elements of sustainable infrastructure and building systems, Wall section OR detail illustrating special environmental features, Energy Star Score, Living Building Challenge considerations, as well as a one-page written design analysis. USGBC NC will provide any state-wide awards as well as a stipend for the winning team to support travel and registration to Greenbuild 2013, USGBCs Annual Green Building Conference and Expo, to be held in Philadelphia, PA, November 20-22, 2013.