Better Buildings Challenge Program Launched to Promote Sustainable Architecture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) July 1, 2011 -- President Obama has recently launched the Better Buildings Challenge initiative. The program is designed to promote greener design practices in the building and architecture community. The green initiative aims to increase the number of energy-efficient commercial buildings to 20 percent by 2020.

During the initial stages of implementation, the focus will be on successfully consolidating and communicating the sustainability guidelines throughout the business and building communities. The program will transition toward working with legislators to revamp and increase the tax incentives for building upgrades.

Over $2 billion in commercial loan guarantees and an estimated $100 million for competitive grants for other green building projects are expected to be available. The allowances created through the Better Buildings Challenge program are structured primarily around the incremental changes made to the structure.

“For your typical LEED commercial building project, an upgrade to a metal building envelope could make a property eligible for a partial deduction of nearly $.60 per square foot,” said Nils Simonsen, President of MetalTech-USA. “This means that the occupants will not only benefit from a reduction in energy costs, but the costs of the building upgrade itself will be dramatically reduced.”

The act is expected to reduce energy consumption by commercial buildings and residences by $130 billion per year by 2020.

MetalTech-USA is a premier distributor and specialty fabricator of eco-friendly architectural metals that specializes in roofing, rainwater, soffit and cladding systems. For more information, visit www.metaltech-usa.com, or call 770-486-8825.

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