In 2011, the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization & ANSI Accredited Standards Developer, was asked by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide compliance assessments to the Guiding Principles for over 180 buildings on 11 different campuses (View St. Cloud VA Campus Case Study).

As a well-established provider of Green Globes sustainability assessment and certification services within the Federal Sector, the GBI created a scoring protocol and assessment methodology to assess and rate compliance to the Guiding Principles.

Per Executive Order 13514 for existing buildings, GBI's Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment Program is designed to meet the needs of Federal Government Agencies that own, lease, and operate buildings. Setting a standard for accuracy, consistency, and credibility, GBI's program utilizes a third-party assessment process that minimizes the amount of time and effort required from agency personnel in progressing towards compliance with the Guiding Principles.

Guiding Principles Compliance Rating
and Certification System

Buildings are assessed in accordance with the GBI Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment & Certification Methodology, which quantifies compliance using a 100-point scale. A GBI appointed third-party assessor verifies compliance based on a site visit and detailed documentation review, before awarding the finalized Compliance Score and Rating.

There are three central elements to the Guiding Principles Compliance Rating System (click the SHOW/HIDE button for more details):

• 1: Compliance Score

  Each building being assessed for Guiding Principles compliance receives a Compliance Score from 0-100%. The Compliance Score is based upon third-party awarded points against the 100-point scale.

• 2: Compliance Rating

  Additionally, each building meeting the minimum score of 40% receives a Certified Compliance Rating from 2 to 5 GPCs. The number of GPCs earned corresponds to a range within the 100-point Compliance Rating scale.

• 3: GPC Logo

  Lastly, the GBI assigns a GPC logo identifying the Compliance Rating and Certification of the building. For buildings not meeting the minimum score of 40%, the logo reflects no Compliance Rating and specifies that the building has been Assessed but not Certified.

Certification and Recognition

Buildings must attain a minimum score of 40% to be certified, and those scoring below 40% are ineligible for certification. In order to acknowledge the efforts of agency staff for projects scoring below 40%, GBI will issue a certificate of completion that designates the building as "Assessed" for the Guiding Principles.

All Guiding Principles certified buildings (scoring a minimum of 40%) receive a certificate of achievement. In addition, they may display an all-weather plaque (if purchased) with the corresponding rating logo depicting their accomplishment (see below) subject to GBI Graphics standards and trademark usage agreements.

Guiding Principles Compliance Rating Scale

Process Overview

The Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment Program follows a straightforward process that involves the GBI, agency personnel, and a third-party assessor. The process focuses on gathering the building documentation necessary for verification of compliance and providing it to a third-party assessor for review during an on-site assessment.

The entire assessment process generally can be completed in 8-12 weeks and follows the basic steps below:

• 1. Complete a self-evaluation using GBI's Guiding Principles Compliance Survey.
• 2.After returning the survey to GBI, a report is provided that outlines the self-evaluated results and preliminary Compliance Score.
• 3.The GBI schedules an on-site assessment date for the third-party assessor to meet with all necessary agency personnel, review the compliance documentation, and inspect building characteristics.
• 4.The third-party assessor reviews the self-evaluated survey and preliminary report prior to the site visit.
• 5.An on-site assessment takes place with the assessor and pertinent building personnel. The assessment normally takes 4-6 hours depending on the number of buildings being assessed, size of the building(s), and availability of all required documentation.
• 6.The third-party assessor completes a Guiding Principles Compliance Survey based on the site assessment.
• 7.Within 2-4 weeks, the third-party assessor provides a finalized report. This report contains the final Compliance Score, Rating, Building Designation, details of the on-site assessment, and recommendations for future improvement with the Guiding Principles.
• 8.A certificate of achievement is provided for building(s) meeting the minimum compliance rating threshold. In addition, an all-weather plaque may be purchased with the corresponding rating logo depicting the building's accomplishment.

For full details on your role and responsibilities during a Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment, please review our detailed Assessment User Instructions.

Next Steps

Resources

• Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment User Instructions - Complete step-by-step instructions beginning with ordering your Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment through to the assessment and final certification of your building.
• Guiding Principles Compliance Pre-assessment Checklist - Begin preparing your documentation for the Guiding Principles Compliance third-party on-site assessment of your building.
• Guiding Principles Compliance Survey (Evaluation Only) - An evaluation only version of the Guiding Principles Compliance Survey.
• Sample Guiding Principles Compliance Automated Third-Party Report - A sample report containing the details of the third-party completed survey, comparison against the self-evaluated survey, and final Compliance Score, Rating, and Building Designation. This report is submitted in tandem with the final third-party report.
• Sample Guiding Principles Compliance Third-Party Final Report - A sample of the final assessment report written by a third-party sustainability expert. This report outlines the details of the on-site assessment, explanations for any changes from the self-evaluated report, a breakdown of points awarded, and recommendations for further improvement and progress towards compliance with the Guiding Principles.
• Guiding Principles Compliance Rating System - A rating document based on GBI's Guiding Principles Compliance Assessment/Certification Methodology.
• Guiding Principles: Case Study - A case study of the St. Cloud VA Campus assessed for compliance to the Guiding Principles in 2011.

Questions?

Contact Customer Service: 1.877.424.4241 | info@thegbi.org