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GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE™ RECOGNIZES FIRST MIDWEST BUILDING
RenewAire, LLC Facility Highlights Energy-Efficiency and Recycled Material Use

MADISON, WI (June 29, 2006) — Today the corporate headquarters of RenewAire, LLC, in Madison, Wis., became the first building in the Midwest to be recognized under the Green Building Initiative's™ (GBI) Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system for commercial buildings.


Madison, WI (June 29, 2006) – Today at a special dedication, the Green Building Initiative formally recognized the RenewAire, LLC facility as the first building in the Midwest to be recognized under the Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system.

On hand for the dedication were (left to right): Duane Amundson, Doug Steege, Ward Hubbell, Dave Baldus, Wendy Wagner and Chuck Gates.

GBI executive director Ward Hubbell presented the RenewAire leadership and their design partner, the Renschler Company, with a plaque recognizing the building's rating of two Green Globes for its merits in energy-efficiency, use of integrated design and the minimization of natural resource consumption and emissions.

Green Globes for new construction was adapted from a system that is widely used in Canada, where it is one of only two green building rating systems recognized by the Canadian federal government. Under the trade name Go Green Comprehensive it is also the basis of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada's national energy and environmental program for existing buildings.

"The Green Globes system offers a number of advantages that make it perfect for smaller buildings like RenewAire," said Hubbell. "It's Web-based, easy to use and cost effective. After third-party verification of the project, you also have a platform for an environmentally progressive organization like RenewAire to make a statement about their commitment to the environment."

The 37,000 square foot building houses RenewAire's business operations, where the Madison-based company manufactures commercial and residential energy recovery ventilators and employs more than 50 people on site.

"We produce products used in the sustainability arena, so we were naturally drawn to make our headquarters green," said Doug Steege, vice president of marketing and sales for RenewAire, LLC. "I think that the additional recognition from Green Globes helps us showcase our desire to play a leadership role in sustainability within the construction industry."

To achieve a verified rating, the design team from the Renschler Company used the Green Globes tool to assess and rate the building, which was then verified by a third-party building science expert who reviewed the construction documents and conducted an on-site inspection.

"One of the benefits of using Green Globes was the fact that it was easy to use and educational," said Eric Truelove, director of sustainable design for the Renschler Company. "The Green Globes approach helped streamline data entry and assessment. Plus, the documentation procedure is carefully designed to follow the entire building process, from project initiation to commissioning and users only address questions related to the project phase they are involved in."

The RenewAire, LLC, headquarters is one of three buildings that have completed certification in the United States using the Green Globes system. Other buildings include Blakely Hall in Issaquah, Wash., and the Pfizer Inc Clinical Research Unit in New Haven, Conn.

For more information about the GBI or 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 broad cross section of organizations and individuals with an interest in residential and commercial construction. For more information on the Green Building Initiative, please visit www.thegbi.org.