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Mark Rossolo - GBI Public Relations 503-274-4054 mark@thegbi.org

GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE® PRESIDENT DISCUSSES STRATEGIES TO INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS TO SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE

Testimony focuses on Existing Buildings, Energy Benchmarking and Green Building ROI

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 25, 2009) - Today Ward Hubbell, President of the Green Building Initiative® (GBI), testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources about the role that environmental green rating systems can play in helping increase the energy efficiency of buildings nationwide. Hubbell also recommended the committee enact policies that will lead to increased energy efficiency in existing buildings, enhance the Department of Energy's energy benchmarking database and comprehensively analyze the economic benefits of achieving a certified green rating.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THIS HEARING... The link below is to the hearing, but the actual hearing starts at 25 minutes and 10 seconds into this vidoe, so please scroll the video to "25:10" for the actual start of this hearing. Mr. Hubbell's testimony starts at 60:10: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO CLICK HERE TO READ FULL TESTIMONY (PDF)

Representatives from Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, Architecutre2030, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and Wal-Mart also participated in hearing.

"Everyone understands the importance of energy efficiency; the question is finding the best route to get there," said Hubbell. "One of my principal messages to the committee is that green rating tools such as Green Globes® incentivize builders to strive for high levels of energy efficiency while the 3rd party assessment process ensures the validity and credibility of the rating."

Green Globes is an online, interactive green rating and assessment tool that is an affordable way to identify strategies that help improve a new or existing building's overall environmental performance. As highlighted by Hubbell in his testimony, Green Globes focuses 35 percent of the overall available points on energy efficiency, a number that is substantially higher than other green rating tools currently in use in the U.S.

"It is clear that we have a tremendous opportunity through green building to help address issues like carbon neutrality, climate change and energy efficiency," said Hubbell. "But if we are going to succeed, we must address existing buildings in addition to new buildings. There is still a gap between sustainable design and actual building performance, and this gap must be closed to ensure that all of our buildings are performing sustainably. Hopefully the committee will look at policies that promote and incentivize energy efficiency in both new and existing buildings."

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.