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GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE™ PRESIDENT SHOWCASES VALUE OF SUSTAINABILITY TO SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2007) — Today Ward Hubbell, president of the Green Building Initiative™ (GBI), testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works about the opportunities to leverage sustainable construction principles to help curb climate change.

Hubbell joined industry representatives from the National Association of Home Builders, U.S. Green Building Council, Healthy Schools Network and others, who testified during the special hearing, titled "Green Buildings: Benefits to Health, the Environment and the Bottom Line."

As part of his testimony, Hubbell emphasized three key points for the committee to contemplate as they develop future sustainability policies:

• Sustainable design does not by itself result in high performance buildings. It must be combined with effective building operation and maintenance to achieve the desired results.
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an essential part of the sustainable design process. Decisions about building materials and products should be based on quantifiable life cycle data, rather than prescriptive approaches (whereby materials are assumed to have environmental benefits based on rapid renewability, recycled content or other attributes).
• Competition in green rating systems is needed to help the building sector contribute innovative solutions to climate change

"The GBI applauds the members of the Committee on Environment and Public Works for tapping a diverse pool of experts from the design and construction industry to share their views on priority issues related to sustainability," said Hubbell. "It is clear that we have a tremendous opportunity, through green building, to help address climate change. But there are no easy answers. To succeed, we must first address fundamental issues within the green building movement-such as the all-too-common gap between sustainable design and actual building performance-which is why we need the collective expertise of the entire building industry."

GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the GBI is dedicated to accelerating the adoption of sustainable design and construction practices by promoting credible and practical approaches to green building for both residential and commercial construction.

For commercial construction, the GBI promotes the Green Globes™ suite of tools that have been widely used in Canada. The GBI has also fostered a unique partnership with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to develop and populate local green building programs based on the widely acclaimed NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines.

For more information about the GBI, 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.