Green building is the practice of taking an integrated approach to building construction, building systems, and building sites to provide more environmentally responsive, 
healthy, productive, economical places to work, learn and live. Green building also goes beyond the physical buildings to consider how the site and buildings interact with 
the community and transportation infrastructure. Below are some helpful resources for building green.

U.S. Green Building Council  (http://www.usgbc.org/)
The USGBC LEED rating system is the required assessment tool under the Palo Alto Green Building Program for non-residential projects. USGBC has an extensive collection of green building resources: market research, publications, presentations, & links to additional resources. LEED ® Rating System info: case studies, training, certification, workshops.
     
     
     
Build It Green  (http://www.builditgreen.org/)
The BIG Green Point Rated rating system is the required assessment tool under the Palo Alto Green Building Program for residential projects. BIG provides case studies and resources for green home construction in California and offers training and other tools to support the Green Point Rated rating system for homes. BIG also offers Palo Alto projects the Ask an Expert Service! (hyperlink to http://greenresourcecenter.org/AskAnExpert.php) The Ask An Expert provides customized responses to a variety of green building questions for building professionals and the general public.