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GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE’S™ GREEN GLOBES™ MODULE FOR
CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING BUILDINGS GAINING MOMENTUM

-- Growing List of Organizations Now Using Tool to Assess and Improve the Performance of Commercial Buildings --

Portland, Ore. (June 22, 2008) – To complement its Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system for New Construction, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) recently began offering the Green Globes for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (Green Globes-CIEB) module — which is being used by various organizations as a component of their greening strategies.

Green Globes-CIEB is an interactive online system designed to give building owners and facility managers a practical and cost-effective way to assess and improve the performance of commercial and institutional buildings. Flexible and user-friendly, it allows users to assess ongoing building performance in a seamless continuum, making it possible to establish a baseline, prioritize and plan improvements, monitor success, and compare multiple buildings within a portfolio. The tool can be used to verify that design objectives have been met once new buildings are fully operational, or as an ongoing green management tool for existing buildings.

In mid-2008 some of the largest corporations and real estate companies have committed to use the assessment tool on their portfolios. Notable participants include Bristol-Myers Squibb, which used the tool to assess its research and development facility in Wallingford, Conn., earning a Two Green Globes certification; USAA Real Estate Company, which is using the CIEB tool on up to 20 buildings as part of their sustainability efforts; Tishman Speyer-Chicago, which is assessing 12 buildings; and the Carol Woods Retirement Community, which used Green Globes-CIEB to assess and improve the environmental performance of 10 buildings at its Chapel Hill, N.C. facility.

“Companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tishman Speyer-Chicago and USAA Real Estate Company, which have so enthusiastically responded to the Continual Improvement module, underscore the need for this practical and cost-effective tool for assessing, benchmarking and improving building performance,” said Ward Hubbell, president of the GBI. “While more building owners are focused on sustainable design, anyone who has ever owned or managed a high performance structure will tell you that design is only part of the equation. The specifics of a building’s operations and maintenance have a tremendous impact on its energy-efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and the many other indicators of sustainability.”

Vicki Worden, vice president of Commercial Programs and Business Development for the GBI noted, “Certification under Green Globes-CIEB is available to companies that complete the on-line assessment, requiring a minimum of 12 months of operational data, as well as successful completion of a third-party review by a qualified third-party assessor. Our tool is both a great way to start the process of creating a baseline for your building portfolio and earn valuable recognition for the achievements your facility teams make.”

Green Globes-CIEB was adapted from its highly successful Canadian counterpart, which represents more than nine years of research and refinement by a range of prominent international organizations and experts. Among other things, it forms the basis of BOMA Canada’s national energy and environmental program, Go Green Plus, which is used by the federal government for its portfolio of more than 300 buildings, and is integral to the Ontario Power Authority’s program for energy retrofits.

Green Globes has also been formally recognized by the United States Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services for use on projects through these agencies formal policy guidance documents. Additionally, GBI is now an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star partner, as both Green Globes - New Construction and Green Globes - CIEB use the Energy Star tools as the basis for energy benchmarking. The tool also complements the Building Owners and Managers Association, International (BOMA) Energy Efficiency Program’s (BEEP) goals for a 10 percent reduction in the energy consumption of buildings. In 2008, GBI signed an MOU with BOMA International to co-promote the two programs.

To raise awareness of the tool’s benefits among building owners and facility managers, GBI is participating in the upcoming BOMA International Show, which takes place June 22 – June 24 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. In addition to hosting an educational session focusing on the module’s use by Bristol-Myers Squibb, GBI will showcase the new tool and its functionality at its exhibit booth (number 471).

To have a building assessed using the new module, please e-mail info@thegbi.org.

For more information about Green Globes and the GBI, visit www.thegbi.org.