The national office--which is a virtual organization notheadquartered at any one location--will now provide more managementand guidance in these goals, she tells GlobeSt.com. Each SkanskaUSA Building office in the US is re-organizing their local GreenCouncil Chapter through the leadership of their Area GeneralManager.

The company's goals for the first year is to accredit anadditional 150 LEED professional, she says. Currently it has 117LEED APs, which means the goal for 2008 is to almost double itsgreen expertise. In the Philadelphia office, those goals translateinto an additional nine or 10 employees that have gone through thenecessary training to become LEED certified.

Skanska first founded a Green Council in 2004, with the supportof co-COO William Flemming, who continues as the council's officialsponsor. "Our formal launch signifies the company's growingpresence and commitment to sustainable construction throughout ourlocal, national and international markets," says SVP ofpreconstruction and Skanska's National Green Council Chair, BethHeider. Skanska USA Building Inc. is a provider of construction,preconstruction consulting, general contracting and design-buildservices.