Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that owns and administers the Green Globes green building assessment and certification in the United States and Canada. It was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
The organization works to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in resource-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings. It educates through the Green Globes certification program and Guiding Principles Compliance for federal building sustainability requirements, which provide independent verification for green building and operational practices. GBI focuses on energy conservation, reduced water consumption, responsible use of materials, ecological stewardship and healthy indoor environments for occupants.
History
GBI acquired the U.S. rights to the Green Globes building assessment and certification program in 2004 and adapted it for the U.S. market as an alternative to the commercial building rating system. The Green Globes certification program was launched in the U.S. in 2005 as an online building design management tool for architects and builders of sustainable commercial buildings. Green Globes originated from a system started in 1990 in the United Kingdom called BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). In an effort to make the tool more user-friendly, the standard was turned into a questionnaire-based rating tool. It was later converted to a web-based format, renamed Green Globes and marketed throughout the U.S. by GBI.
Green Globes eventually came to include modules for New Construction (NC), Existing Buildings (EB), Existing Healthcare Buildings and Sustainable Interiors (SI). GBI offers these programs to builders, designers and building managers.
In 2005, GBI was accredited as a standards developer through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It developed the ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings to guide the development of Green Globes products. The organization began updating the ANSI Standard in 2016, which was completed in 2018 and titled Green Globes Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings.
The nonprofit also provides training and certification for professionals who use their programs.
In 2011, GBI developed the Guiding Principles Compliance (GPC) program to measure compliance with the Federal Guiding Principles for Sustainable Buildings as required by Executive Order 13514 signed in 2009.
In January 2018, GBI acquired the global rights to Green Globes from JLL, which allowed GBI to support existing Green Globes users in Canada in addition to the United States, and to expand the rating system globally.
Certification
Green Globes is a science-based building rating system for building owners and operators to select sustainability features. It uses a third-party certification for building owners to demonstrate sustainable features, operational efficiencies and measures to protect occupant health. Projects that have achieved over 35 percent of the 1,000 available points through third-party verification can earn a rating of 1 to 4 Green Globes.
The Green Globes for New Construction certification includes two stages for assessment and certification. The preliminary assessment occurs after concept design when construction documents are available. The final assessment occurs when construction is complete. Users can evaluate their systems based on the number of applicable points in seven categories.
The evaluation walks through a sequence of criteria questions in an online portal. Once the questionnaire is completed, the user is introduced to their third-party Green Globes Assessor, who is an expertise in green building design, engineering, construction and facility operations. The Green Globes Assessor prepares a report that provides a list of achievements along with recommendations for sustainable building strategies. The Assessor then performs an onsite assessment of the project to verify that the self-reported claims made in the online evaluation and to suggest recommendations for improvement.
Assessment
Green Globes for New Construction
Green Globes for New Construction (Green Globes NC) is a system to evaluate, quantify and improve the sustainability of new building projects. There are 1,000 available points across seven environmental assessment areas.