Shelby Busó will help advance the state toward greener buildings and a more sustainable future
WASHINGTON, D.C.— July 19, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — USGBC announced the appointment of Shelby Busó as the director of USGBC Georgia. In this role, Busó will work to advance USGBC’s mission to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated through localized engagement and outreach throughout the state.
As director of USGBC Georgia, Busó will collaborate on sustainability initiatives with local engagement. Along with her fellow Southern leaders, Busó plans to advocate for better buildings, including the expansion of LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the world’s most widely used green building rating system.
“Shelby’s years of expertise in the sustainability sector and in-depth knowledge of Georgia will enhance the growth of LEED, adoption of green practices and further USGBC’s mission at the state level,” said Kimberly Lewis, senior vice president of community advancement, USGBC. “We are thrilled to have Shelby lead our efforts to propel Georgia forward as a national and international leader in the green building movement. She will focus on creating meaningful dialogue around the state to encourage leaders, organizations and communities to create spaces that are better, healthier and more sustainable places to live, work, play and worship.”
Busó has spent nearly a decade in the environment and sustainability field, most recently serving as director of sustainability for the Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District. During her tenure Busó managed the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and under her leadership the program saw an increase of more than 100 million square feet of space commit to a 20 percent reduction in energy and water use by the year 2020. The 20 percent water savings goal was achieved in 2015, and the program received national recognition from the U.S. Department of Energy. Additionally, she raised and leveraged more than $150,000 in sponsorships to support the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge.
Previously, Busó was the assistant director of transportation and sustainability for the Midtown Alliance, a non-profit membership organization and coalition of leading business and community leaders committed to sustaining Midtown. She also served as a program manager for Atlanta’s Clean Air Campaign.
She is an active community member and has served on several boards, councils and committees for organizations such as Wylde Center, Green Meetings Industry Council, Building Energy Summit, Atlanta Recycles Committee, Building Owners and Managers Association of Georgia, North GA Water Planning District, Commercial Building Efficiency Ordinance Working Group and City Climate Action Plan. Busó was the recipient of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce E3 Award for development of the Midtown EcoDistrict plan, Greenprint. She holds a law and master’s joint degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Environmental Studies and Spanish from Wake Forest University.
“I am thrilled to be picking up the torch for USGBC Georgia to enhance LEED and green building practices in our local communities,” said Busó. “Georgia has played a strong role in the sustainability movement and I look forward to working with our stakeholders on a community, local and state level continue to advance our mission of a green building for all within a generation.”
Currently, Georgia has 722 LEED-certified commercial projects, equivalent to more than 118 million square feet. In addition, between 2015 and 2018, green building in the state of Georgia is expected to support nearly 400,000 green construction jobs and more than $22 billion in labor earnings, according to USGBC’s 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study.
USGBC’s integrated community gives regional and state green building leaders and volunteers the opportunity to focus on driving local growth with the support of its global green building network. By creating a network of local building leaders, USGBC communities are transforming the way we think about how buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated to achieve a sustainable built environment for generations to come.
by Leticia McCadden
