Each issue, this section highlights sustainability-related information from a different GBI Supporting Member.

SBIC Promotes Whole Building Approach to Design

A leader in the field of whole building design and education, the non-profit Sustainable Buildings Industry Council works with partners such as the US Department of Energy, General Services Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and national labs to create products and tools that no one group could create on its own.

“Our motto is beyond green,” says Helen English, executive director of the SBIC. “Energy-efficiency and renewables are at the heart of what we do. But we recognized early on that these are just two of many equally important design considerations. As a result, we’ve spent years trying to coherently define and encourage a whole building approach, which includes all aspects of sustainability as well as security, safety, aesthetics, accessibility, health and other design objectives.”

The SBIC offers programs in the following building categories:

Residential – This program includes the SBIC Green Building Guidelines, which feature hundreds of tips for builders new to green home design, as well as the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and the LEED for Homes rating system.

Schools – Across the US, some 6,000 new schools will be required to serve the growing student population, and one third of existing schools are in need of repair and replacement. The “High Performance School and Building Resource and Strategy Guide” is geared toward school administrators and local advocates, architects, engineers and builders, who want to ensure that new and retrofitted schools meet goals for energy-efficiency, health, safety and other high performance indicators.

Federal – The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the United States. SBIC supports the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) through training, design charrettes, peer reviews and other resources.

Small Commercial – This program is aimed at helping architects, engineers, builders and their clients create small and medium sized commercial, institutional and residential buildings that are energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive.

SBIC education, outreach and advocacy programs include, among other things, training seminars, workshops and energy simulation consultation. SBIC also helped to create the popular Whole Building Design Guide, which is available free of charge at www.wbdg.org.