Peter Templeton has been affirmed as president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) after serving as the interim leader during the past year. He assumes the helm with experience in key positions at the USGBC and its project certification and professional credentialling arm, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), as part of a 25-year career dedicated to high performance and sustainable practices in the built environment.

“Our boards are thrilled that he has agreed to take on the CEO role at this critical juncture in the history of the green building movement,” says Aaron Bernstein, chair of the USGBC board of directors. “We must accelerate action on the climate crisis. Peter has worked tirelessly throughout his career to advance green building and, in doing so, combat climate change and protect our health.”

Templeton was one of the USGBC’s first employees, joining to help with the launch of the LEED rating system. He was also the GBCI’s first president from 2009 to 2012. Just prior to stepping in as the USGB’s interim president and CEO, he was the president and CEO of the Cradle to Cradle to Products Innovation Institute from 2018 to 2021.

Templeton serves on the boards of the World Green Building Council and Sustentabilidad paraMexico. His USGBC leadership also comes with responsibility for GBCI and the sustainability performance platform, Arc Skoru.

“Peter is a passionate leader with a clear vision for taking green building to the next level,” declares Don Anderson, chair of the GBCI board of directors. “He is committed to evolving our frameworks and ramping up capacity needed for building owners and occupiers to meet aggressive goals for decarbonization, resilience, health and equity in the built environment.”