Green Globes™ Gaining Acceptance among Legislators

Ward Hubbell, President

We applaud the trend toward rating system neutral legislation and commend the growing number of responsible policymakers who are harnessing the power of competition to accelerate green building in their jurisdictions.

Last week, Illinois became the eleventh state to pass legislation that is rating system neutral, meaning that it recognizes Green Globes as an equal option alongside LEED and/or other credible systems.

There is abundant evidence to support the fact that Green Globes and LEED cover the same ground and provide roughly equivalent ratings. For example, a recent study by the University of Minnesota concluded that the two systems "are quite similar" and that "both include a common set of potentially impactful design elements that contribute to the improvement of a building's green performance." Of the six buildings we know of that have been dual certified, all but two received similar ratings using LEED or Green Globes.

At the same time, the two systems have some fundamental differences-such as the fact that Green Globes is web-based and designed to be affordable-that, together, allow them to support a greater diversity of buildings and building professionals.

We've made no secret of the fact that, when it comes to encouraging people to embrace green building, we prefer voluntary, market-based approaches. However, we also recognize that governments are under tremendous pressure to tackle climate change and other environmental issues, and that sustainable building is an important part of the solution.

As such, we applaud the trend toward rating system neutral legislation and commend the growing number of responsible policymakers who are harnessing the power of competition to accelerate green building in their jurisdictions.

Having more than one rating system helps to drive improvements and lower costs. It's good for building owners and developers, who benefit from access to a greater number of green building professionals, and it's good for the environment because it encourages a greater number of people to design and build green.