Factors explaining the adoption and impact of LEED-based green building policies at the municipal level

Abstract

The number of green buildings certified under voluntary, third-party rating systems has been growing, as has the number of jurisdictions that require or incentivise such certification. In this paper, we use logistic and linear regression to demonstrate that for all cities in the US with population greater than 50,000, there is a statistically significant relationship between the presence of a municipal green building policy and the number of registered green buildings (those still under construction), but not the number of certified buildings. We present very strong evidence that the presence of a policy is indeed leading to more green buildings, rather than demographic or other factors.

Keywords:

• green buildings
• municipal policy
• climate change
• urban environmental governance

Acknowledgements

This research was funded via the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Illinois and the National Science Foundation. The authors thank Matt Anderson, Trevor Fuller, and Devon Lechtenberg for their research assistance with this project, and Sara McLafferty for her comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.