Newly Empowered Chapters Help USGBC Accept Trade Associations

On August 9, 2005, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that it has amended its bylaws to accept trade associations as full members. This decision reverses an action taken in the spring of 2004 (see EBN Vol. 13, No. 6), when the board of directors voted to retain the exclusion of trade associations. It opens the door for the Council to become formally accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standards-setting body. Behind this change, however, is another story—about how the Council’s national office has a new understanding of the power, and value, of its chapters. “The last time that this agenda went forward, I’m not sure that anyone recognized the sophistication and intelligence of our chapter organizations,” says CEO Rick Fedrizzi.
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