Authorizing City Council's Committee on Technology and Information Services and City Council's Committee on the Environment to hold hearings to examine the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining LEED certification for City building projects.

WHEREAS, The U.S. Green Building Council is a community of more than 9,000 organizations from every sector of the building industry and government; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Green Building Council has created LEED--Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design--a coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work; and

WHEREAS, LEED promotes a whole building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: (1) sustainable site development, (2) water savings, (3) energy efficiency, (4) material selection and (5) indoor environmental quality; and

WHEREAS, LEED certifications provide a road map for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building life cycle. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance; and

WHEREAS, LEED certifications are available for municipal buildings, schools, playgrounds, existing building operations and maintenance, campus building projects, commercial interiors, new commercial construction, major renovation projects and homes; and

WHEREAS, Major cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Saint Louis, Tucson, and Washington, participate in LEED;

now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That authority is given to the Committee on Technology and Information and the Committee on the Environment to conduct hearings to examine the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining LEED certification for City building projects.

End