Peter TempletonPresident & CEO at U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)Speaker
Profile
Peter Templeton is president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), a role he has held since 2021. During his tenure, he has expanded the organization's strategy and partnerships to increase the reach and impact of USGBC and GBCI’s market transformation work worldwide.
Before becoming CEO, Templeton held numerous senior leadership roles at USGBC, leading global market development and establishing strategic partnerships. He is among USGBC’s first employees and supported the launch of the LEED green building rating system as director of LEED and international programs. In subsequent years, he supported LEED training and professional credentialing programs, USGBC’s research initiatives and played a role in growing the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.
Templeton was appointed the first president of GBCI, which administers third-party project certification and professional credentialing for LEED and other green building standards, serving in the position from 2009 to 2012. During his tenure, GBCI certified over 200 million square meters of new and existing buildings and awarded over 200,000 credentials to green building professionals worldwide.
Templeton previously served as president and CEO of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) from 2018 to 2021. He helped scale Cradle to Cradle Certified®, a leading global standard for materials and products optimized for human and environmental health, circularity, and social fairness.
Templeton holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. He began his career working on international development projects focused on sustainable land use and resource management.
In 2025, Templeton was appointed to the CRREM Foundation Board, contributing to CRREM’s work to support real estate decarbonization pathways and carbon-risk transparency.