JOB CREATION EFFORTS FOCUSED ON BUILDING RETROFIT PROJECTS ENDORSED BY REAL ESTATE, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION
“COALITION FOR BETTER BUILDINGS” WEBSITE LAUNCHED
WASHINGTON, DC – November 7, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — A broad spectrum of real estate, business, lending, manufacturing, environmental and energy efficiency organizations led by The Real Estate Roundtable, U.S. Green Building Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council have launched a joint initiative focused on energy efficiency policies that will create new jobs and boost economic growth.
Utilizing their newly launched website – www.C4BB.com or www.coalitionforbetterbuildings.com – the “Coalition for Better Buildings” initiative will focus on public policy issues such as retrofitting the nation’s commercial building stock, which will spark employment in the hard-hit construction sector and reduce energy consumption.
The website includes an analysis that finds more than 114,000 well-paying, domestic jobs can be created with modest federal incentives. The coalition analysis shows how energy efficiency upgrades would have a ripple effect throughout the economy, generating new manufacturing, production and service jobs while demonstrating how public funds can leverage far greater amounts of private investment to retrofit commercial and large multifamily buildings.
“Public policies that encourage energy efficiency in buildings and create jobs make perfect sense in our uncertain economic climate, said Jeffrey D. DeBoer, president and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable. “This diverse coalition of industries have come together to work with Congress and the Obama administration on common-sense business practices that will produce real results – jobs, economic growth and incentives for businesses across the nation to take on new retrofit projects.”
“America could save more than 30 percent of projected energy use over the next 20 years using off-the-shelf building efficiency technologies that are widely available today,” said David Goldstein, Co-Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Energy Program. “Cutting energy usage means cutting harmful pollution from power plants, while creating much-needed jobs in the construction sector. It also means saving money for building owners and businesses — money that can be injected back into our economy to buy goods and services and create even more jobs.”
“Common ground can be elusive these days, but the building professionals and energy efficiency advocates have a surplus. When building stakeholders and environmentalists stand together with one unified voice, decision makers in Washington D.C. take notice,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “We look forward to working with policy makers on initiatives that will create an estimated 114,000 jobs that support the building industry and slash wasted energy.”
For more information on the Coalition for Better Buildings, please visit the website (www.coalitionforbetterbuildings.org or www.c4bb.org), or contact:
@ NRDC
Suzanne Struglinski (202/289-2387; 
@ RER
Xenia Jowyk (202/639-8400; 
Scott Sherwood (202/639-8400; 
@ USGBC:
Marisa Long (202/552-1500; 
About The Real Estate Roundtable The Real Estate Roundtable brings together leaders of the nation’s publicly-held and privately owned real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms with the leaders of national real estate trade associations to jointly address key national policy issues relating to real estate and the overall economy. Participating trade associations represent more than 1.5 million people involved in virtually every aspect of the real estate business. For more information, visit www.rer.org.
About U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
The U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation
through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. With a community comprising 79 local affiliates, nearly 16,000 member organizations, and more than 168,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. GDP from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students. For more information, visit usgbc.org, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org.
