The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is the largest and most influential local-regional-global action network, leading the transformation to sustainable and decarbonised built environments for everyone, everywhere.
Together, with 75+ Green Building Councils and industry partners from all around the world, we are driving systemic changes to:
We work with businesses, organisations and governments to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
Collectively, the World Green Building Council network is transforming the building and construction sector across three impact areas — climate action; health equity & resilience; and resources & circularity.
For each of these impact areas, we have set ambitious 2030 and 2050 North Star Goals to help us achieve them.
Advancing Net Zero is WorldGBC’s global climate action programme, accelerating the uptake of Net Zero Carbon Buildings to 100% by 2050.
Better Places For People is WorldGBC’s global programme transforming health and wellbeing in the built environment.
Circularity Accelerator is WorldGBC’s global programme to drive the adoption of circular economy and resource efficiency in the building and construction sector.
In 1993, the first Green Building Council was founded – and a global movement was born.
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) was formed by Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried (previous CEO), and Mike Italiano, with a mission to promote sustainability-focused practices in the building and construction industry, and for the first time, bring together all actors across the built environment value chain to advance green building.
Around the world, other green leaders in the industry looked to the impact of the USGBC and decided that they too needed to start a similar movement in their own country, led by a Green Building Council.
The green building movement began generating more and more interest around the world, and individuals from across the globe were supported by the USGBC.
With this growing global interest, David Gottfried seeded and managed the formation of the “United Nations of the Green Building Councils” with the mission of supporting the development of Green Building Councils around the world, uniting them with a common voice and purpose.
And so began the World Green Building Council.
In 1999, the founding meeting of WorldGBC was held in California, US.
Three years later in 2002, WorldGBC was officially formed with Green Building Councils: Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and US.
In 2007, a Secretariat for WorldGBC was formally established in Toronto, Canada, and vital support was provided by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Essential start-up funding of over $1 million dollars per year for 3 years was provided by the Province of Ontario Canada.
Since then, WorldGBC has seen tremendous growth and evolution in its focus and structure.
In 2009, WorldGBC launched five Regional Networks and three Green Building Council membership levels (Prospective, Emerging and Established) to facilitate the growing interest in membership globally.
In 2010 a Corporate Advisory Board was formed to deliver strategic insight directly from the industry to the WorldGBC Board. And by 2012, the number of member Green Building Councils had grown from 9 to 71.
In 2015, the WorldGBC Board agreed a three year strategy for the organisation with five key areas of focus: Membership; Regional Networks; Projects and Partnerships; Marketing, Communications and Influence; and Governance and Operations.
The WorldGBC began to play a more globally influential role by producing highly respected reports such as From Thousands to Billions – Coordinated Action Towards 100% Net Zero Carbon Buildings by 2050 in 2017 and Doing Right by Planet and People: The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Building in 2018.
In 2020, the WorldGBC launched a two year strategy, Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere — to tackle the climate emergency, health and wellbeing, and resource efficiency issues in the built environment.
Since its formation, WorldGBC has grown into a global network of over 70 Green Building Councils around the world.
Founder: David Gottfried
Founding Chair: Che Wall
Previous Chairs: Che Wall; Kevin Hydes; Tony Arnel; Rick Fedrizzi; Bruce Kerswill; Tai Lee Siang; Lisa Bate; Tanya Cox
Current Chair: Ilari Aho
Previous CEOs: Andrew Bowerbank; Jane Henley; Terri Wills
Current CEO: Cristina Gamboa
