SBIC Announces a Call for Entries for 2006 Awards Program

Washington, D.C.—The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) is now soliciting submissions for the 2006 Awards Program which recognizes professionals who are making exceptional contributions to sustainability in America’s built environment. The two main award categories to be recognized are: “Best Sustainable Practice” (open to SBIC members only) and “ExemplarySustainableBuilding” (open to all). Federal, state and private sectors are welcome to submit entries. Commercial, institutional and residential buildings are all eligible. Appropriate applicants would include trade associations, researchers, architects, engineers, consultants, universities and educators, builders, product manufacturers and suppliers, marketing and media experts, and utilities-related personnel. Now more than ever, sustainable building and green issues have reached the top tier of consciousness in the national media and, consequently, in the minds of the general public. With coverage in top national newspapers such as The New York Times, the LA Times and the Washington Post, as well as cover stories in magazines including Newsweek, sustainability is now undeniably a mainstream topic. SBIC has championed sustainability since its inception in 1979, and developed the annual Awards Program—now in its sixth year—to recognize the excellent innovations and ongoing contributions SBIC members and other industry professionals are making toward building a sustainable future. To be considered for the ExemplarySustainableBuilding category, projects must be built within the last five years, occupied for at least one year, and must also be either built within the United States, or, if built on foreign soil, must be funded by U.S. companies or government agencies. To enable others to learn from this process, winning projects will be published as case studies on the SBIC Web site (www.sbicouncil.org) and possibly on the Whole Building Design Guide Web site (www.wbdg.org). This site is receiving close to a million page views per month and will provide winners with outstanding visibility if their project is approved for inclusion onto the WBDG. Entries for the