Lane Burt, Technical Policy Director, U.S. Green Building Council

As a movement, we knew we had come a long way when President Obama announced the Better Buildings Initiative in February, establishing the goal of slashing energy consumption in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020.

Groups like USGBC, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Real Estate Roundtable (RER) applauded the plan. Articulating the goal and achieving it are two different things, however, and we all realize that so much of the initiative hinges coordinating and communicating as we are pursuing building improvements and smart policy changes.

That’s why we have again joined with NRDC and RER to launch the Coalition for Better Buildings (www.C4BB.org), an action network dedicated to improving energy efficiency of commercial and multifamily buildings. The website went live last week, and new members are joining daily.