Green Building Alliance

GBA inspires the creation of healthy, high performing places for everyone by providing leadership that connects knowledge, transformative ideas, and collaborative action.

We advance our mission through four main initiatives: Knowledge Network (Education, Networking, Support), Pittsburgh 2030 District, Green & Healthy Schools Academy, and Policy & Advocacy (newly revived in 2015).

Knowledge Network
GBA always intends to be the go-to organization for all things related to healthy and high-performing buildings in western Pennsylvania. Over the next three years, GBA will rebrand and strengthen the offerings (educational events, Inspire Speakers Series, technical assistance, and original content development) to achieve the same recognition as other core GBA programs, while continuing to support those initiatives with excellent operations, logistics, and communications.

Pittsburgh 2030 District
The Pittsburgh 2030 District's 436 buildings representing 65.5 million square feet of real estate in Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland are actively working to achieve 50% reductions in energy use, water use, and transportation emissions by the year 2030. These dramatic reductions will be made in conjunction with improved indoor air quality and increased returns on investment. GBA will expand District participation, develop new tools and baselines, and leverage collected data into actual decision-making, while continuing to share best practices and helping to expand the worldwide 2030 District network.

Green & Healthy Schools Academy
GBA assists schools with integrating sustainability into their buildings, curriculum, and culture through inspirational, comprehensive, and transformative education. GHSA will explore ways to reach schools "where they are" with a variety of programming approaches and active working relationships, while continuing to align with the U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools program for sustainable and healthy schools.

Policy & Advocacy
Policy describes municipal, county, and statewide legislation and regulations. Advocacy defines GBA's voice in important regional projects. GBA believes in the long-term impact that results from successful policy and advocacy efforts, and will assert its influence as the "go-to" organization for healthy and high-performing buildings, neighborhoods, and the highest-quality development projects in western Pennsylvania.

GBA will engage its members and community stakeholders to develop a shared policy agenda and active participation among the local green building community. Based on national best practices, local need, and coordinated community/stakeholder input, GBA will work with other agencies to create state, county, city, municipal, and project policy agendas with clear vision, priorities, and measurable standards of successful impact.