U.S. Green Building Council

Legal name: Us Green Building Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521822816
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2028287422
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,309,478
Expenses
$51,393,872
Assets
$39,973,989
Liabilities
$17,654,896

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER TEMPLETON (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • PETER TEMPLETON (PRESIDENT & CEO): $998,915 total reported compensation
  • LISA REVITTE (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $419,438 total reported compensation
  • SARAH ZALESKI (CHIEF PRODUCTS OFFICER): $381,788 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To scale actions that advance building decarbonization, enhance community resilience, restore ecosystems, and improve occupant well-being.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program service accomplishments: usgbc membership/community (market transformation development) usgbc is powered by its members. Our members have shaped our organization into what it is today and are driving the entire green building community to go further faster than ever before. We're made up of companies large and small, local and multinational. We're educators and innovators, scientists and activists, nonprofit employees and policymakers, advocates and more. We bring diverse backgrounds and experiences but share one steadfast vision: that the green building community can help change our world for the better. (see schedule o)(continued from part iii) volunteers are usgbc's on-the-ground advocates, sharing ideas, networking and educating, and spreading information and education throughout their communities. The local communities also administer an active network of emerging professionals groups who are new to the green building industry and sustainability movement and who are provided with opportunities to hone their leadership and professional skills.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 64.5%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 46.3%; rating input score 46; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 66% of revenue deployed · 64.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $33.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $999K · 15 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.1M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 40 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.