USGBC-Northern California Chapter Welcomes Former Secretary of State George Shultz and Honors the U.S. General Services Administration at Green Building Super Heroes Gala

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the U.S. Green Building Council – Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) hosted hundreds of green building industry leaders at their annual Green Building Super Heroes Gala at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.  The Honorable George P. Shultz served as the evening's special guest speaker and urged the crowd to vote "no" on Proposition 23.  The USGBC also awarded Martha Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, with the organization's Green Groundbreaker Award.    

"We are honored that Mr. Shultz is joining us for Northern California's premier green building gala.  His recognition of the critical role green building plays in creating green jobs and mitigating climate change, and the importance of California's environmental leadership is a powerful statement," said Dan Geiger, Executive Director of USGBC-Northern California.

George Shultz, Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institute, served as Secretary of State under President Reagan, and Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Labor and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Nixon.  He is Honorary Co-Chair of the No on Proposition 23 campaign; the Proposition would roll back California's landmark environmental and climate change legislation, known as AB32.

"Prop 23 is designed to kill California's effort to clean up the environment. The stakes are high. I hope we can win here and send a message to the whole country that it's time to put aside partisan politics and get an energy bill out of Washington," said Mr. Shultz.

The USGBC – NCC honored Martha N. Johnson, Administrator of U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), with a Green Groundbreaker Award to recognize her outstanding leadership of the GSA and its Zero Environmental Footprint initiative.  The GSA occupies nearly 500,000 buildings, has spent more than $4.5 billion on modernization and retrofitting, and is spending $1 billion on new green buildings.  

"Zero environmental footprint is this generation's moon shot.  It is not only the right thing to do environmentally, it is also the right thing to do from a business perspective, from a social perspective, and from a strategic perspective", said Ms. Johnson.

USGBC-NCC also recognized outstanding green building projects including The Transamerica Pyramid, The Orrick Building, and The Energy Foundation; and community benefit organizations Architecture for Humanity, GRID Alternatives, MEarth, and RichmondBUILD Green Careers Academy.  The event's Distinguished Honorary Host Committee includes Senator Dianne Feinstein, several members of Congress, State Legislators, unions, and CEOs of numerous building industry companies (see below).

About USGBC-NCC Green Building Super Heroes

The Gala benefits USGBC-NCC, a non-profit organization that educates, motivates and advocates for industry transformation to build and maintain sustainable communities. For more information, see www.usgbc-ncc.org.  USGBC is nationally recognized for its LEED green building certification program. For more information, see www.usgbc.org.

Green Building Super Heroes Honorary Host Committee

SOURCE USGBC-Northern California Chapter