WorldGBC Global Awards

Each year, WorldGBC presents two major awards recognising the contributions of individuals and organisations to the global green building movement: the WorldGBC Chair’s Award and the David Gottfried Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award.

The Chair's Award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the global green building movement, while the David Gottfried Award is presented to individuals or entities whose contribution to the global green building movement has been shown to be unique, innovative and entrepreneurial. David Gottfried was an entrepreneur who originally helped to found the World Green Building Council and the US Green Building Council.

These Awards are presented at the WorldGBC Congress.

2018 Awards

The winners of the Chair’s Award and the David Gottfried Award were announced at a ceremony held in Toronto, Canada as part of CaGBC's Building Lasting Change 2018 with WorldGBC Congress Canada in June 2018.

United Technologies Corporation and Dr. Joseph Allen of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health were jointly awarded the WorldGBC Chair’s Award, together with Dan Slone, former legal counsel to WorldGBC and founder of Vertical Vision PLC.

Energiesprong was awarded the David Gottfried Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award.

Read the news story for more information.

Previous winners

WorldGBC Chair’s Award

2017

Romilly Madew, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia

2016

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of The International WELL Building Institute and Former CEO of the US Green Building Council

2015

Paul King, Managing Director of Sustainability at Lendlease, and former CEO of the UK Green Building Council

Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030

Dr John Keung, CEO of the Singapore Building and Construction Authority

2014

Qiu Bao Xing, former Executive Vice Minister with the Chinese Government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development

Tony Arnel, Global Director of Sustainability at Norman Disney & Young (NDY)

Alejandro Aravena, Chilean architect and executive director of the firm ELEMENTAL S.A

2013

Cameron Sinclair, Co-Founder of Architecture for Humanity

Dr Ray Cole, respected expert on green building rating systems and a professor and former director of the University of British Columbia School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 

2012

Sir Tim Smit KBE, Executive Vice Chairman and Co-founder of the Eden Project

Duygu Erten, ÇEDBİK (Turkish Green Building Council)

Mirna Terenziani, Green Building Council movement in Italy

Sadek Owainati, Former Chair of Emirates GBC and Founding Chair of the WorldGBC MENA Regional Network. 

Rachel Gutter, Director, Centre for Green Schools

Nicola Milne, founding CEO of the Green Building Council of South Africa

WorldGBC David Gottfried Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award

2017

William McDonough and Professor Dr. Michael Braungart, co-founders of Cradle to Cradle

2016

Pierre-André de Chalendar, CEO of Saint Gobain

2015

No award given

2014

Nils Kok, Founder and CEO of GRESB

2013

Karim Elgendy, Founder and General Coordinator of sustainability advocacy initiative, Carboun

2012

Professor Siegbert Zanettini, Brazilian architect