USGBC to Staff Sustainability Leaders in School Districts

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched a new Center for Green Schools, headquartered at its offices in Washington, D.C., to further its efforts to give access to green schools to all students within a generation. At the heart of the plans for the new center is the Center for Green Schools Fellow Program, which will fund and staff sustainability coordinator positions in school districts across the country for three years starting in 2011.

“A district-wide sustainability initiative isn’t going to be successful until you make ‘green’ someone’s job,” said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools. She hopes that the funded positions will become permanent in many places as school districts realize the value of the position and begin paying salaries themselves. The Center for Green Schools will be keeping data on the benefits of the position, which could include savings from energy improvements, increased community awareness and involvement, or other improvements.