By gaining control over water use, companies help protect a precious resource, reduce runoff pollution and comply with new conservation legislation. Saving water also has a powerful multiplier effect by reducing the vast amount of energy expended in transporting it.

Through a partnership with the National Governors Association, the "Greening State Capitols" program will provide energy audits in 20 U.S. state capitols to identify ways in which they can reduce energy consumption.

As existing buildings become more efficient and new buildings are designed to have a much smaller impact, the green building industry is growing rapidly, from $12 billion in revenues last year to more than $42 billion by 2015, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, and LEED is the certification of choice for that industry, although it faces some obstacles to continued success.

Cost is the perennial barrier to green corporate investments in energy efficiency, but a new approach from Economist Jerry Jackson, the author of "Energy Budgets at Risk," can help companies evaluate these expenditures using tools created by the financial industry.

The outdoor retailer's 2007 Stewardship Report finds a range of improvements in overall environmental performance and reporting, although it also highlights areas for improvement in reducing emissions and supply chain auditing.

The benefits of leasing transactions for roof-mounted systems are growing because installation costs are becoming more attractive, due in part to various state rebate programs and the increasing cost of electrical energy.

All of the 13 largest U.S. homebuilders have taken up green building practices, but even though some are doing much more than others, there is no standout sustainable homebuilder, according to a new report.

The most energy-efficient businesses in the U.S. can consume a third less energy than a more conventional company. By arming themselves with knowledge about the financial benefits of sustainability upgrades, facility managers can make these efficiency programs an easy sell.

Nearly three-quarters of landscape architects said in a recent survey that their clients are very interested in sustainable issues. Top issues relate to water, energy efficiency, accreditation, habitat and green roofs.

This report from Dovetail Partners looks at how the storage of carbon within wood products and the low energy and fossil fuel intensity of wood products has been ignored by policy analysts.

More than 200 Target stores have been fitted with submetering systems so building managers can closely monitor how energy is used throughout their facilities.

RREEF North America, part of Deutsche Bank, has taken up the voluntary 7-Point Challenge of commercial real estate environmental goals.

The American Institute of Architects sees how the three main green building rating systems compare point-by-point with its criteria for what it says a green building system should include.

The company's GreenStar initiative will push Vestar toward the development of LEED-certified retail spaces. Vestar is currently testing LEED guidelines for the retail sector as part of a pilot program.

Made famous in the Discovery Channel show, "American Choppers," Orange County Choppers is now housed in a 92,000 square-foot building that sports exterior glazing upgrades, daylight harvesting, variable air volume system, efficient rooftop HVAC equipment, efficient lighting and demand-based garage exhaust, among other features

The second annual Green Business Conference takes place in Chicago this month; in advance of the gathering GreenBiz Radio sat down with Denise Hamler, director of Co-Op America's green business programs, to learn how the world of green business has grown.

The U.S. Green Building Council has given awards and grants to identify and support green building classes at all education levels.

eBay's North Campus is now the home of 3,248 solar panels in a 650-kilowatt system that will supply 18 percent of the campus’s power, saving the company about $100,000 in electricity costs in its first year of operation. The company used the solar energy system's unveiling to tout its first LEED-Gold building, which also is the city's first.

A survey of owners and managers of facilities that have received LEED-Existing Building certification say the majority of measures associated with the process are no-cost or low-cost actions.

Starbucks wants to slash energy consumption in its stores by 25 percent and buy enough renewable energy certificates to satisfy half of its stores’ energy needs, all by 2010, the company said Wednesday. All new construction will incorporate green building principles.

A look at the current state of green homebuilding: who is leading, who is lagging and what they can all do to make homebuilding more sustainable.

A reference giving on an overview of LEED-New Construction and step-by-step explanations of how to apply it to projects.

The American Institute of Architects sees how the three main green building ratings systems compare point-by-point with its criteria for what it says a green building system should include.

The Leonardo Academy surveyed LEED-EB certified facilities to find out what LEED-EB criteria has low or high costs.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers recently launched two guides to move these structures toward reduced energy consumption.