The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that Jane Henley, former chief executive officer of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), has come on board as a senior advisor to provide strategic guidance on global market development efforts in Asian markets. Head of the WorldGBC for more than five years, Henley made significant strides in the ongoing international market transformation of the green building industry.

During her tenure as CEO, the WorldGBC expanded from 70 individual country green building councils to 100 with five focused regional hubs. Henley forged partnerships with other major international bodies such as the World Bank/IFC and led a network that included 700 green building council staff stationed around the globe. Prior to joining the WorldGBC, she served as CEO of the New Zealand Green Building Council. She also served on the board of the United Nations Environment Programme between 2010 and 2011.

“Jane joins our global market development team at such a critical moment,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “Many Asian countries already embrace LEED and green building practices, but there is so much more to be done to further expand the understanding, acceptance and use of green buildings in new markets. Jane is just the right person to lead this effort, and I know she will have a significant impact on market adoption of green building in the region.”

Already very active in both China and India, USGBC’s operations in the Asian continent stand to grow exponentially in the coming years. There are 833 million square feet of LEED-certified space in India alone. Mainland China is the  second largest market for LEED in the world. The demand for high-performance buildings and expertise in the industry is on the rise.

“The last 10 years have been focused on our industry organizing itself and increasing its capacity to define and deliver green buildings. The focus in now shifting to the customer,” said Henley. “We have different ways to define a green building in every country, and as interesting as that is for professionals, it is confusing for the owner and the users who just want to know that their building performs to their expectations. We are now entering an era of convergence, and I look forward to my role in establishing ways to talk about green buildings through a single platform.”