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Contact: Mike Gehrig
(312) 988-2065
mgehrig@thegbi.org

GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE™ EDUCATES MORE THAN 400 BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS ABOUT LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
-- First Free Online Educational Programs Helps Attendees Implement Green Building Practices and Techniques --

Portland, Ore. (February 28, 2008) – More than 400 people learned about life cycle assessment (LCA) during the first of series of new online education seminars provided by the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a not-for-profit education and marketing initiative dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices.

The free online education session, which was made available via the GBI's web site (www.thegbi.org), taught design and construction professionals about a groundbreaking LCA tool, the ATHENA® EcoCalculator for Assemblies, which provides instant LCA results for hundreds of common building assemblies.

Developed by the Athena Institute in consultation with the University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Building Research and Morrison Hershfield Consulting Engineers, the tool was originally commissioned by the GBI for incorporation into the Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system. However, recognizing its value as an indicator of global warming potential and other environmental impacts, GBI also supported the development of a generic version, the ATHENA® EcoCalculator for Assemblies, which is available free of charge from the Athena Web site (www.athenasmi.org). Since its launch last year, the EcoCalculator has been recognized with awards for innovation from both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council.

Additional EcoCalculator seminars will also be available on March 5 and March 19, with the late March seminar focusing primarily on LCA for building owners and managers.

After March, the seminars will also be available via the GBI Web site for access anytime. Further seminar topics now in development include the "Liability of Building Green" and "How to Market Your Company or Product as Green?"

For more information on the available or upcoming GBI resources, visit www.thegbi.org.

ABOUT THE GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE:The mission of the Green Building Initiative is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches. A not-for-profit education initiative, the GBI is supported by a broad cross section of organizations and individuals with an interest in residential and commercial construction. For more information on the Green Building Initiative, please visit www.thegbi.org.