Templeton Named President and CEO of USGBC, GBCI

Peter Templeton (pictured). Photo courtesy of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its partner organization Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), both headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA, announced the appointment of Peter Templeton as president and CEO. 

Templeton has played a leading role in the development, launch, and ongoing operation of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, a widely used and respected green building program used by developers, corporations, and governments to dramatically reduce their environmental footprints. LEED provides a comprehensive, globally recognized framework for healthy, high-performing green buildings, communities, and cities.

Templeton has served at USGBC and GBCI for more than 20 years and led the organizations on an interim basis during the past year. He has dedicated the entirety of his career to successfully driving behavior change to improve public health and the environment in communities worldwide.

“We must accelerate action on the climate crisis,” says Aaron Bernstein, chair of the USGBC board of directors and interim director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Peter has worked tirelessly throughout his career to advance green building, and in doing so, combat climate change and protect our health. Our boards are thrilled that he has agreed to take on the CEO role at this critical juncture in the history of the green building movement.”

“Peter is a passionate leader with a clear vision for taking green building to the next level,” says Don Anderson, chair of the GBCI board of directors and operational advisor to Blackstone. “Organizations around the world are focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Quite simply, Peter gets it and is working collaboratively with partners in all sectors to mobilize action at scale. He is committed to evolving our frameworks and ramping up capacity needed for building owners and occupiers to meet aggressive goals for decarbonization, resilience, health, and equity in the built environment.” 

As president and CEO of both USGBC and GBCI, Templeton will direct the organizations’ efforts to increase the reach and impact of green building and green business market transformation activities around the world. He will build his work over the past 25 years to accelerate the global adoption of practices that improve human health, environmental well-being, and quality of life for all. 

“It is a tremendous honor and responsibility to lead USGBC and GBCI,” Templeton says. “Buildings are a primary contributor to climate change, and over the past three decades the USGBC community has championed proven solutions and readied the market for critical innovation in policy, technology, and practice. I am committed to working with our talented team and dedicated partners to advance this work further and faster to address the urgent challenges facing our families, communities, and planet.” 

Templeton’s full bio can be viewed here.

Source: USGBC, www.usgbc.org.