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Contact: Mark Rossolo - GBI 503-274-4054 mark@thegbi.org

Green Building Initiative Releases Proposed American National Standard for Third, Limited Public Comment Period

Green Globes® rating system on track to become first American National Standard for commercial green buildings; forty-five day public comment period starts April 10, 2009

Portland, Ore. (April 9, 2009) – The Green Building Initiative (GBI) announced that the proposed GBI American National Standard based on the Green Globes® rating system will be released for a third, limited public comment period, which will run from April 10, 2009 to May 26, 2009.  The standard, officially known as GBI 01-200XP: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings has already gone through two previous rounds of public comments, and this round is limited to the amended technical criteria. 

The GBI Consensus Committee received almost 300 public and committee comments based on an October 24, 2009 draft of the proposed standard.   GBI is accredited as a standard developer by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and follows ANSI-approved consensus procedures for the development of the standard.

Wayne Trusty, chair of the GBI consensus committee and president of the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, stated, “We believe the public has much to gain from GBI’s work developing this standard.  When the standard is released, GBI will be introducing performance-based carbon metrics in the energy section, a new water consumption calculator that helps address building-specific water uses, an LCA credit calculator for building assemblies and new credits on durability and service life planning. GBI will also be maintaining its emphasis on credits that reward integrated design and delivery and comprehensive project management.”

"The public comment periods have been extremely beneficial in the continuous improvement of this document,” said Vicki Worden, GBI staff liaison to the Technical Committee and Vice President of Commercial Programs. “This third draft of the standard is the result of input from hundreds of experts across the country over nearly a three-year process.  The ANSI process helps to ensure through formal committee work, subcommittee work, public meetings and public comment periods that we are bringing the best available information forward through our standard.”

Because the committee is nearing the end of its technical work on the standard, GBI notes that this third round of public comment is limited to addressing only the technical changes resulting from the second public comment period.  Those changes are highlighted in a draft posted on GBI’s website for easy public viewing.

Interested parties can download the proposed standard from GBI’s website at www.thegbi.org.  Public comments from the second public comment period and committee actions are also available on the website

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

About the Green Building Initiative: The mission of the Green Building Initiative is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches. A not-for-profit education initiative, the GBI is supported by a cross section of organizations and individuals with an interest in residential and commercial construction. To learn more about the GBI or the Green Globes® environmental assessment and rating system, visit www.thegbi.org.