by Rebecca Walker — September 9, 2009 New York Governor David A. Paterson recently signed the State Green Building Construction Act, which gives the state’s Office of General Services (OGS) authority to develop and implement new green building standards for New York State.
“The State of New York is committed to integrating sustainable design principles and energy efficiency into its building design and construction projects. The goal is an optimal balance of environmental, public and human benefits for meeting the state’s construction needs,” Paterson said.
“The Office of General Services will now be charged with advancing Governor David A. Paterson’s sustainability agenda,” said Office of General Services Commissioner John C. Egan. “We are pleased that this new law will enable the agency to continue to collaborate with state agencies and authorities to construct green buildings that lower energy costs, improve air quality, reduce waste and curb greenhouse gases. We look ahead to aggressively pursuing this new responsibility.”
In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required all newly constructed major building projects to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status. Several states have similarly instituted policies requiring green building practices.
The agency now has 31 designers who are LEED-accredited professionals and the OGS Design and Construction unit now assigns a LEED professional to every design project to review opportunities for sustainable design features and to identify projects that may be suitable for LEED certification.
For more information, see the OGS Web site.
