World Green Building Council | Brief

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is a non-profit organization and global network
of national Green Building Councils (GBCs). It has member councils in over 70 countries
worldwide, which collectively have 49,000 members (25,000-member companies and 24,000
individual members).
The organization is committed to achieving the following goals by 2050: limiting global
temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius; reducing the building and construction sector’s CO2
emissions by 84 gigatons; and ensuring all buildings have net zero emissions. These goals will
ensure the buildings and construction sector plays its part in delivering on the ambition of the
Paris Agreement.
In 1993, the first Green Building Council was founded in the US, formed by Rick Fedrizzi,
David Gottfried and Mike Italiano with a mission to promote sustainability-focused practices in
the building and construction industry. Around the world, other green leaders in the industry
looked at the impact of the USGBC and decided to start similar movements in their own
countries, led by a GBC. Individuals from across the globe were supported by the USGBC.
Gottfried seeded and managed the formation of the “United Nations of the Green Building
Councils” with the mission of supporting the development of GBCs, and uniting them with a
common voice and purpose.
In 1999, the founding meeting of WorldGBC was held in California, US. In 2002, WorldGBC
was officially formed with eight founding GBCs: Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan,
Mexico, Spain, and USA.
In 2007, a Secretariat for WorldGBC was formally established in Toronto, Canada, supported by
the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority – which continues to work with WorldGBC.
Start-up funding of over $1 million dollars per year for three years was provided by the Province
of Ontario, Canada.
Since then, WorldGBC has seen growth and evolution in its focus and structure. In 2009,
WorldGBC launched five regional networks and three membership levels (Prospective,
Emerging and Established). In 2010 a Corporate Advisory Board was formed to deliver strategic
insight from the industry to the WorldGBC Board. By 2012, there were 71 member GBCs.
The WorldGBC began to produce reports such as The Business Case for Green Building in 2013
and Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices in 2014. In 2015, the WorldGBC Board agreed
a new strategic plan for the organization with five focus areas: Membership; Regional Networks;
Projects and Partnerships; Marketing, Communications and Influence; and Governance and
Operations.