Over the past decade, I have watched with amazement and satisfaction as green building has been transformed from a peripheral issue into a movement and, subsequently, into a professional field. And at this stage in its evolution, green building seems to be approaching its “tipping point” into mainstream practice.

In January of this year, a Wall Street Journal article identified ten major trends in the architecture world; three of those ten were related to green building and development. And according to the U.S. Green Building Council, the market for green building products and services grew 37 percent between 2003 and 2004, when it reached an annual $7 billion. As a green building consultant, I have witnessed this growth firsthand.

Within the commercial building arena, one barometer of the exponential rise of green building practices is the rapid and widespread adoption of the LEED Green Building Rating System. Kicked off in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED has taken the building industry by storm, as it has helped to define, demystify, and standardize green building.

LEED-NC (for New Construction) was the first LEED system to be developed. When the first LEED project I worked on was certified in 2002, it was only the fourth certified project in California and the 27th certified project in the world. Now, as of November 2005, there are 293 LEED-NC certified projects in the world. And, more than 2,230 projects are now registered for LEED-NC, indicating their intent to apply for certification; those projects hail from all 50 U.S. states and 13 countries, and they represent almost 250 million square feet of construction. In another measure of progress, when I became a LEED Accredited Professional a few years ago there were only a few hundred of us across the country, and there are now approximately 21,000 people who have passed the exam for “LEED AP” accreditation.

Many federal agencies and state and local governments now use LEED as the standard for their own building projects, and many of the largest private developers and builders, high-profile building owners, and renowned architecture firms (as well as small companies) have embraced LEED as well. Encouraged by the success of LEED-NC, the USGBC has expanded its offerings to include LEED-EB (for retrofits and ongoing operations and maintenance of Existing Buildings), LEED-CI (for office tenants’ Commercial Interiors), and the new LEED-CS pilot rating system (for speculative Core and Shell developments). There are now 358 LEED certified projects for all LEED rating systems combined. A survey conducted last year by the Reed Research Group for Building Design & Construction magazine showed a significant increase in green building activity among its respondents: “Results show a measurable boost in firms completing green building projects (41 percent in 2004 vs. 34 percent in 2003) and projects where LEED certification was sought (19 percent in 2004 vs. 14 percent in 2003).” Environmental Design + Construction magazine’s 2005 Green Building Industry Awareness Study reported that 94 percent of respondents have noticed an increase in green building design and construction, up from 87 percent in 2004 and only 78 percent in 2003.

Residential green building has lagged behind the commercial sector somewhat, but there are plenty of indications that green homes are a growing trend as well. The USGBC is just starting the pilot phase of its new LEED for Homes (LEED-H) rating system, and it expects to launch LEED for Neighborhood Developments (LEED-ND) in 2006. Meanwhile, there are now hundreds of examples of green homes in all regions of the United States — representing every style and type and price; from high-end custom homes to affordable housing to production home sub-divisions to remodels. New green products and green materials stores have sprung up across the country, and countless new Web sites, guidelines, and other resources have emerged in recent years. (These are only a few indicators of the growth of green building practices. Other indicators suggested in recent market research include ED+C’s Green Building Industry Awareness Study issued March 2005 (visit www.EDCmag.com) and the Green Building SmartMarket Report, released this November by McGraw-Hill Construction and the U.S. Green Building Council.)

In 1999, when I surveyed building professionals as part of my graduate thesis research and I asked them to identify and rank the barriers to the widespread adoption of sustainable building practices, the top two barriers they cited were a lack of client demand and a lack of information on green building. But now, more than six years later, those barriers have been almost entirely knocked down. The interest and information are out there.

It has become clear that green building is more than just a fad that will fade away. Yet green building practices are still not as widespread as they should and will be; green building does not yet comprise the majority of new building or renovation work. So what might help accelerate the societal shift and tip green building into the realm of the status quo? Many factors, to be sure; both institutional and grassroots efforts will have an important role to play. The impending LEED for Homes and LEED for Neighborhood Developments rating systems will likely help to boost the rate of green home building, particularly in the new production home market. And rising energy prices, water shortages, indoor mold issues, and ever-increasing asthma rates are certainly heightening awareness about the benefits and value of green building.

As green principles are gradually conveyed to more individuals, I believe that green building will become standard practice. Ultimately, personal concern and commitment are what make green building happen. When people embrace an environmental ethic, they feel driven to educate themselves about best practices and then to educate others.

When such an ethic really takes hold in a person, it pervades one’s decisions in every aspect of life — at home and at work and everywhere in between. I have encountered many architects and other building professionals who have incorporated “green-ness” into their marketing materials and into their practice. While some have done so simply to respond to client demand and to remain competitive, most have done so out of a personal commitment to sustainable design. But not enough of us yet have taken our work home with us, so to speak, to make our own homes and lifestyles greener. I challenge myself and my colleagues to do so more rigorously. We need to act as our own leaders; lead by example, practice what we preach, and make changes in our own “backyard,” as the sayings go.

In a time when I often wrestle with feelings of hopelessness around world events and politics, I find hope in the progress of green building. And. the optimist in me believes that as it becomes more of a cultural norm to address the sustainability of our built environments, perhaps our society will also take better care of our greater natural environment and all of its inhabitants.