Frequently Asked Questions about the Green Building Initiative™ and ANSI

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) was the first green building organization accredited as a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in September of 2005. Following this recognition, GBI began the process of developing Green Globes™ as an American National Standard. Recently the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was also named a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) by ANSI.

How does this recent news affect the Green Building Initiative's (GBI) ANSI status?

As the first green building organization to be named an SDO by ANSI, we're pleased the USGBC also decided to pursue SDO status. Utilizing ANSI's established, consensus-based process encourages fair, equitable and open standards development that help ensure the best standards will be brought forward to the public.

While ANSI grants SDO status to a wide variety of organizations even if they are from the same industry, SDO status alone does not mean that an organization's documents (such as the GBI's Green Globes™ v.1 or the USGBC's LEED-NC 2.2) are automatically considered an ANSI standard. The document first must complete the rigorous review process which is detailed in the sponsoring organization's ANSI-approved procedures.

This is the process that GBI began with Green Globes in September, 2005.

How far along is the GBI in the ANSI process?

The GBI ANSI technical committee and its sub-committees are on target to establish Green Globes as an American National Standard under ANSI by late 2008. The GBI ANSI technical committee and sub-committees feature a range of nearly 90 building science experts including representatives from four federal agencies, states, municipalities, universities, leading construction firms and building owners.

If the GBI is already an accredited SDO, why did ANSI also grant SDO status to the USGBC?

ANSI approves SDO applications on the basis of the procedures the organizations submit that detail the way they will develop their standards in accordance with ANSI's guidelines for achieving consensus. There is no conflict for ANSI in having more than one organization become an SDO. However, ANSI does provide avenues for addressing potential duplication of efforts in standard development should two organizations progress down too similar of a path.

Generally speaking, GBI's leadership believes that this rapidly developing industry is well-served by fostering a marketplace that embraces a variety of approaches to creating a much greener built environment. Only through encouraging debate, technological advancement, and the continued evolution of best practices will we come closer to meeting the challenging environmental goals set by our nation, such as Architecture 2030.

What is the GBI's stance on multiple green building standards?

If we want the green building movement to mature and grow, we need the power of competition to drive the improvements that will take us to the next level. GBI may be the first, but will not be the last organization to work toward developing third-party codified consensus standards for green or high performance buildings. Since GBI has entered the U.S. marketplace, several other organizations have announced plans to develop minimum high performance building standards, including ASHRAE, ASTM, and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

With an estimated 100 million buildings in operation by 2010, it is imperative that organizations like the GBI, USGBC and others provide multiple solutions based on sound building science to help improve our built environment.

For more information on the GBI and the ANSI process, please click here.