March 19, 2009 | GBI Insight Home

MOUs with AIA, ASHRAE Broaden Areas of Collaboration

Further entrenching the mindset that many different types of organizations can—and should—work together to accelerate the adoption of green building practices, the Green Building Initiative has finalized Memorandums of Understanding with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

The MOU between GBI and AIA reflects a commitment to further the adoption of sustainable building practices by, among other things:

• Providing education and training for mainstream design professionals, as well as reciprocal education opportunities;
• Encouraging and/or undertaking research that identifies strategies for specific economic and environmental performance outcomes for sustainable design and building practices;
• Cooperating and collaborating on public policy initiatives where common or complementary objectives are identified;
• Working to further life cycle assessment (LCA) as members of the Athena Institute’s LCA advisory council; and
• Creating opportunities for AIA members to study and qualify to become Green Globes® third-party assessors.

As noted in the agreement, AIA and GBI have a great deal of common ground, especially as related to the development and use of rating systems and standards that promote sustainability, carbon neutrality for all new buildings by the year 2030, and support for the use of Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) data for energy benchmarking.

Likewise, the MOU between GBI and ASHRAE reflects a similar commitment to achieve mutual objectives by:

• Promoting the design, construction and operation of buildings that are energy efficient, healthier and environmentally responsible through education and training;
• Providing access to the Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system;
• Promoting the link between sustainable design and actual performance outcomes;
• Encouraging and/or undertaking research that identifies specific economic and environmental benefits of green building practices; and
• Supporting and promoting green building standards, certification programs and rating systems.

As noted in the agreement, ASHRAE and GBI also have significant shared ground. Both organizations participate in the development of standards, personnel certification, and education initiatives intended to facilitate a more sustainable built environment and are supportive of each others' efforts. Both also share the goal of carbon neutrality for buildings and support the adoption of green building practices among mainstream design and building professionals.