Beijing also requires government agencies to buy energy-efficient products, and it has focused on improving building efficiency in hotels in the China's cold northern regions.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Spread over nine equally-weighted categories, the scorecard rates colleges on factors like sustainable policies by administration, commitment to energy efficiency and conservation, food and recycling policies, campus-wide green building initiatives, student involvement, alternative transportation.

FORBES: Sustainability Report Card: How Green Is Your College?

That along with a high-efficiency cooling system resulted in a 34% energy savings compared to a typical building.

FORBES: GE Opens One Of World's Greenest Data Centers

It's a safe bet that even if there were no pressure to reduce greenhouse gas-related emissions from buildings, today's efficiency ethos and sheer economic self-interest would drive interest in cutting building energy use.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Johnson Controls is one of the companies to push the envelope in this arena, in tandem -one would hope- with venture capital that can see the wisdom in energy efficiency multiplied by every individual household and building.

FORBES: Johnson Controls Gets Smarter on Smart Buildings