INFORMATION ABOUT SPEAKERS

Roger Platt  
Senior Vice President, Global Policy and Law
U.S. Green Building Council

Mr. Platt is responsible for managing policy and legal aspects related to the increasingly global adoption of the LEED green building certification program. LEED is currently in use in more than 117 countries, and projects outside the U.S. account for about 23% of the square footage of LEED projects, signifying how rapidly it has become a global metric of achievement. Platt’s role includes managing an international portfolio of policy development relationships, including the Climate Positive Develop­ment Program, which is a joint program with the Clinton Climate Initiative and USGBC; the World Green Building Council, of which USGBC is a founding member; the World Economic Forum; the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as various local governments and local green building councils in countries where LEED is becoming a dominant rating system tool for delivering high performance buildings.

Mr. Platt also oversees USGBC’s proactive engagement in U.S. policy and legislation development among federal and state agencies, on Capitol Hill, in state capitals, city halls, and county commissions across the country, as well through the alliances USGBC has forged with other NGOs and public-private initiatives. This includes advancing USGBC’s views to these constituencies on a wide variety of environmen­tal and land use issues, including energy and water efficiency policies, and the built environment’s contribution to reducing carbon emissions and the critical importance of green homes and green schools.

Mr. Platt joined USGBC after a very successful 15 years as senior vice president and counsel with the Real Estate Roundtable, which repre­sents the leaders of America’s top public and privately owned real estate entities on public policy issues. There he pioneered a series of high-profile collaborations between the Roundtable and environmental and non-profit organizations to advance responsible public policy. These include working with the Clinton Climate Initiative’s global program on large energy retrofits; Environmental Defense Fund and the Nature Conservancy on multi-species land use planning; the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Smart Growth America on smarter growth, including the recycling of brownfield properties; the Environmental Protection Agency on the launch of the Energy Star Building Label program; the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on tax incentives for ultra-efficient commercial build­ings; and most recently with NRDC and USGBC on how greener, more efficient buildings can be part of the solution to energy and climate protection challenges.