Local Political Leadership and Green Building

Why do the levels of adoption in voluntary green building program (the LEED) vary across the U.S. cities? How does local government’s commitment to climate change policy influence the adoption of voluntary green building certification? It is related to a broader question how politics, in particular political leadership of mayors and governors, influence business (of sustainable development). To answer above questions, I begin from the premise that proactive local governments on climate change policy increase the number of voluntary LEED certification in their jurisdiction. Local governments have a crucial role in encouraging local businesses to enroll the LEED program. Thus, I expect that active local authorities, having a number of own LEED certifications and signing US Mayor climate agreement are likely to be associated with local businesses’ adaptation of the LEED program. In order to test the hypothesis on the adaptation of the LEED program, I use the count data on LEED projects as a dependent variable. Hierarchical models suggest that local climate policy and leadership is positively associated with LEED adaptation, controlling city and state level variables.