Easier being green.

* The city of San Francisco has announced the adoption of a green building ordinance that requires all new construction projects, including city-owned and leased facilities, to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a release from the USGBC.

San Francisco joins nine other cities that have enacted green building ordinances requiring LEED certification, says the USGBC.

Under the ordinance, municipal buildings will need to follow designated green building design principles designated by the LEED point system, which the city hopes will translate into cost-saving measures in the future, says Jared Blumenfeld, director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment.

The USGBC is encouraged by the ordinance and hopes more cities will follow San Francisco's lead, says Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president, CEO and founding chair. "The city's adoption of LEED Silver standards in their ordinance demonstrates San Francisco's exemplary commitment to green building," he says. "We look forward to more cities following their leadership."

Among the LEED standards are credits that can be earned for materials recycling practices at construction sites and credits for the purchase of recycled-content building products.