Green-procurement policies or green-building mandates can help accelerate the adoption of green-building practices, according to research by Timothy Simcoe and Michael Toffel. The authors studied what happened after municipal governments in California adopted sustainability policies on public (but not private) building renovations and new construction. After local governments decided to pursue LEED certification for their own buildings, there was an uptick in the number of local architects, general contractors, and other construction industry professionals who sought LEED accreditation. Also, the use of LEED increased among private builders.
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