The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today that the emissions generated by energy use at the USGBC's First Annual International Green Building Conference and Exposition (Austin, Texas, November 11-15, 2002) are being offset, and the event is being certified as a Cleaner and Greener(sm) Event by Leonardo Academy.

The large donors of emissions reductions for this event include: DuPont Antron, Johnson Controls Inc., Philips Lighting North America, Waverly Light and Power, Renewable Choice Energy, and Leonardo Academy. A complete list of donors is available on the Cleaner and Greener web site at www.cleanerandgreener.org/certification/USGBC2002.htm. Additional donations to further offset this event's emissions are being accepted on-line at the web site above throughout the event.

Conference events generate emissions through the energy used for transportation, food and lodging for the conference attendees, and the conference facilities. The pre-event emission estimates prepared by Cleaner and Greener show that energy use associated with this event will cause the following emissions: carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and mercury (Hg).

Offsetting these types of emissions is important because each pollutant causes its own particular set of problems and many pollutants are known to cause health problems.

According to Christine Ervin, President and CEO of the USGBC, "The certification of our conference as a Cleaner and Greener Event is one more example of the USGBC's commitment to a cleaner environment and we thank all the donors of emission reductions for making this achievement possible."

Michael Arny, President of Leonardo Academy, added, "The USGBC's dedication to sustainability is demonstrated by its commitment to having a Cleaner and Greener Certified Event by offsetting these event emissions. The emission reduction donors should be commended and have made achieving this emission reduction goal possible. The Cleaner and Greener Program lets us all take positive actions in our daily lives to reduce environmental emissions."

The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making buildings sustainable. The USGBC's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for the sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings is being embraced by building owners in the United States and internationally as the tool of choice in moving their buildings towards high-performance green building (www.usgbc.org).

Leonardo Academy's Cleaner and Greener(sm) Program certifies events and organizations for positive emission reduction actions, retires emission reductions for environmental improvement, and has a home energy and emission reduction checklist for families (www.cleanerandgreener.org). Leonardo Academy is a non-profit organization dedicated to putting the competitive market to work on improving the environment. EC