Green Business Certification, Inc. announced the opening of a new office in Shanghai. Through rigorous certification and credentialing standards, GBCI drives adoption of green building and business practices through LEED and other green building rating programs.

“China has been a leader of the green building market for a long time and we are continuing to see tremendous interest and support for LEED in the country,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI. “Market transformation happens one project a time, and China has an opportunity to continue to drive sustainability at a global scale.”

Andy To has been named managing director of GBCI North Asia. To comes to GBCI China from CBRE where he was managing director of Asset Services for Greater China. He has more than 20 years of experience in the property and asset management industry with a particular focus on properties and facilities in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and second tier cities. He also worked at Kerry Property Management Beijing and Sino Estates Management Limited.

GBCI’s expansion into China will help facilitate the growth and policy around LEED and GBCI’s other sustainability programs in the China region as the country works toward meeting the many sustainable and green development goals in its 13th Five-Year Plan. The new office will also provide local, on-the-ground support to clients in the region and improve access to GBCI’s sustainability programs and resources.

Since 2008, GBCI has exclusively delivered more than 37,800 LEED certifications to green building and community projects around the world and has established a world-class infrastructure to help advance the mission of the green building movement. Currently, there are more than 3,400 LEED registered and certified projects in China, comprising more than 212 million gross square meters of space, and more than 2,900 LEED professionals. To and his team will be responsible for the market development efforts of GBCI China and will ensure the advancement of LEED and other GBCI sustainability programs in the region.

According to a newly published report from CBRE and USGBC, as Chinese builders move in accordance with the nation’s 13th Five Year Plan, green building space is expected to reach 2 billion square meters by 2020, up from current estimates of 600 million square meters of green building space spread across more than 300 cities. Between 2006 and 2016, LEED-certified projects had a compound annual growth rate of 77 percent, making China the global leader for LEED projects outside of the United States.