Green Building Council is go

The move comes two years after the Sustainable Building Task Group called for the "advisory bodies concerned with sustainable buildings to be simplified and consolidated to provide a clear direction for industry".

A Green Building Council was set up in the USA 11 years ago and is likely to provide the model on which the UK version is run. Over the past five years in the USA, about 6,500 organisations have joined, along with 21,000 individuals who are registered as LEED-accredited assessors. It has been widely credited with the increase in the number of buildings with demonstrably lower environmental impact and client demand for green construction products.

The Council would be a non-profit making body with no private ownership and aim to promote and champion the design and construction of sustainable buildings.

The organisation would form strategic alliances between members, key industry stakeholders, research and technology organisations and government bodies at a local and national level.

Martin Wyatt, chief executive of BRE, says: "If real transformation is to take place on the scale required, a national coalition is essential to promote and champion the design and construction of sustainable buildings.

"A UK council would do so in a practical and concerted manner for the benefit of UK business as well as for the environment."

The aim is to establish the Council by September/October this year with sufficient seed funding for the first two to three years.

Ultimately the Council would become self-funding through subscriptions from member organisations and individuals.

• For more information or to register an interest in becoming a founding member visit www.ukgbc.org