Chinese generally still equate "green building" with "energy efficiency". The Chinese government has focused on building energy efficiency for many years and national efficiency improvement targets are included in the central government's 11th 5-Year Plan (2006-2010). However, there are no comprehensive Chinese green building rating systems and, to date, the USGBC's LEED system has primarily filled this void. Both international NGOs and the government are developing localized certification systems that will soon launch. China needs 3rd-party trade organizations to support the industry as well as what Rob Watson terms "Centers of Excellence" that would provide central venues for training, events and product exposition.

Chinese energy efficiency building standards are already quite high - higher than the US ASHRAE standard in some respects (Wang Hong). Many cities require north-south building alignment and solar thermal water heating. Chinese building energy intensity/m2 is about 50% that of US buildings (David Fridley)

The market for green building certification is still small, with clients usually being international companies with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies or high-end Chinese developers. Nevertheless, the growth is extremely high with overall LEED project construction area growing 130% from 2006-2007. The chart below shows the increase in LEED construction area over time. With over 4 million sqm, China's LEED area is almost 1/3 of the United States' LEED area (12.5 million sqm, according to EMSI).

Source: Ken Langer, EMSI

While the commercial market needs a localized system that addresses Chinese environmental priorities and takes into acount the country's level of development, the general public needs a simple green building rating system that gives consumers something to hold on to and generates demand in the market - Germany's "Energy Pass" is a good example.

JUCCCE, an NGO based in Shanghai, is assisting to translate and localize the USGBC's LEED green bulding rating system for China. Others, such as Rob Watson, are also working to establish a local Chinese 3rd-party trade organization to promote the industry and drive a local building certification industry.

Some green building groups based in China include: the China Intelligent and Green Building Association (CIGBA), the Shanghai Green Building Promotion Council (SHGBC), and the city of Chongqing's Association of Energy Efficiency in Buildings (AEEB).

In July 2006, the Chinese government announced its own green building assessment system. The system is losely based on the LEED system but has added an additional category on the management & operation of green buildings. Right now the government is setting up an agency called the Chinese Green Building Committee to administrate the system.

Of EMSI's 28 LEED projects in China, the most targeted credits (<80%) were:

• Optimize energy performance by 10%
• Alternative transportation, public access, bicycle storage
• Construction waste management, divert 50%
• Water use reduction by 20%
• Low emitting materials, paints, coatings, carpets
• LEED accredited professional

And the least targeted credits (<10%) were:

• Brownfield redevelopment
• Optimize energy performance >31%
• On-site renewable energy
• Building and materials reuse
• Rapidly renewable materials