With the recent launch of the Global Coalition for Green Schools, the U.S. Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council are putting a stronger-than-ever emphasis on supporting the design, construction and operation of sustainable schools. The coalition will work to reshape schools and "fundamentally change" the way students learn about the world around them, says the USGBC.
"This is not just about energy efficiency" but about the whole school, including the building's contents, said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer for United Technology Corp.'s Building and Industrial Systems, at the USGBC's Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, held on Nov. 19-22 in Philadelphia.