David Gottfried

David Gottfried started Regenerative Ventures and its consulting arm, WorldBuild in 1995, after founding the U.S. Green Building Council in 1993, and serving as its first staff President. USGBC has been quoted as the leading global green building organization, having the greatest impact on climate change. In 1998 Gottfried invented and incubated the World Green Building Council, now with established and emerging green building councils in approximately 50 countries. Collectively, the world’s green building councils have likely done more for climate change reduction than any organization. USGBC is considered the fastest growing non-profit in the world, now with almost 20,000 organizational members and 80 U.S. chapters.

Gottfried received his degree in Engineering & Resource Management from Stanford University and is a regular lecturer for Stanford’s Civil Engineering Department, as well as a member of the University’s Sustainable Built Environment Advisory Board. He is the author of Greed to Green: the transformation of an industry and a life. Mr. Gottfried has won numerous awards and delivered hundreds of keynote speeches in over a dozen countries. He is internationally acknowledged as one of the foremost founders of the global green building movement, and wrote the white paper for the LEED® Green Building Rating System, the acknowledged standard for green building. He has published dozens of articles and conducted hundreds of keynote speeches worldwide.