FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Charles G. Chartier, Jr.

504.450.4681
cchartier@speccai.com

Anisa Baldwin Metzger

504.592.0160
abaldwinmetzger@usgbc.org

U.S. Green Building Council Sends 8 Louisiana Residents to D.C.

Group will educate members of Congress on benefits of Green Building

New Orleans, LA – September 15, 2009 – Eight Louisiana delegates have been
selected by USGBC National to participate in a two-day advocacy training and visit to
Capitol Hill. The group will be traveling to Washington D.C. on September 22 and 23
to speak with Louisiana’s congressional members about the benefits of green
building for Louisiana’s businesses and individuals. The delegates are active
members of the USGBC Louisiana chapter, which was founded by a diverse group of
building industry professionals in 2004.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 38% of total energy use nation-
wide, as well as 71% of electricity. Accordingly, 13.6 % of all potable water in the
U.S. is consumed through use in buildings. Aside from environmental concerns, there
are also socio-economic issues to be addressed through green building. For example,
low-income households spend, on average, 19.5% of their annual income on home
energy costs alone. Environmentally responsible building is one possible way to
address these issues, as well as many others simultaneously.

After the group participates in a training and education program aimed at updating
them on key federal policy issues related to green building, the two-day D.C. itinerary
will continue on the following day with a full schedule of meetings with the Louisiana
Congressional Delegation. This will be a unique opportunity to challenge the
members of Congress that represent the state of Louisiana to address job creation,
coastal restoration, reduced energy usage, and other issues that face the state, by
considering the benefits of more responsible building practices.

The eight individuals travelling to the nation’s capitol are as follows:

• Anisa Baldwin Metzger, USGBC New Orleans Green Building Coordinator

• Mary Katherine Bruce, FutureProof
• Charles G. Chartier, Jr., USGBC-LA Advocacy Chair
• Grasshopper Mendoza, NAI/Latter & Blum Inc.
• John Moore, City of New Orleans
• Chad Odom, Louisiana Thinks
• Regina Philson, USGBC Louisiana Chapter
• Thomas Rush, USGBC Advocacy Committee Member

USGBC’s Mission: To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and
operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous
environment that improves the quality of life for all people.

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