AUSTIN, TX — Pliny Fisk III, Co-Director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems located in Austin, Texas, was one of four recipients honored with a Leadership Award by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) at a gala dinner during the International Green Building Conference & Expo held in Austin, Texas, in November. These awards are given annually to individuals and/or companies who have made an outstanding contribution to green building.

Pliny Fisk III was given recognition in the Public Service Leadership category for his more than 30 years pursuing green building technologies and practices. Most recently, he oversaw the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored Solar Decathlon submission for the UT/Austin School of Architecture. Beginning in 1975, Mr. Fisk co-founded the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS), a non-profit education, research and demonstration organization specializing in sustainable planning and design.

Fisk also helped establish the guiding principles and framework for the City of Austin Green Builder Program; he supervised the revision of Texas General Services Commission’s Architecture & Engineering Guidelines, incorporating sustainable materials and methods; he is a co-chair of the national American Institute of Architect’s (AIA) Committee on the Environment’s Environmental Resource Guide Committee; and he participated on the “greening” of the White House and Grand Canyon initiatives.

Governor George Pataki of New York, Ray Anderson of Interface, Inc. and Rob Watson, Director, International Energy Project, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. also received the USGBC Leadership Awards this year