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MINNESOTA'S "NEXT GENERATION ENERGY ACT OF 2007" FORMALLY RECOGNIZES GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE'S™ GREEN GLOBES™ SYSTEM
— Seventh State to Include Green Globes in Legislation —

Portland, Ore. (May 31, 2007) — Minnesota recently became the seventh state in the United States to formally recognize the Green Building Initiative's (GBI) Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system by passing its "Next Generation Energy Act of 2007" into policy.

The policy recognizes the growing demand for energy and the role the state plays in providing for increased energy-efficiency, the development and use of renewable energy resources and the creation of effective energy forecasting, planning and education. Among its many directives, the "Next Generation Energy Act of 2007" sets a state goal of certifying 100 commercial buildings to the Green Globes or U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standard by December 31, 2010, and mandates utilities to include in their conservation improvement plans programs that facilitate professional engineering verification to qualify a building as Green Globes-certified, Energy Star-labeled or LEED-certified.

"We applaud the state of Minnesota for taking a leadership role in making our country, states and cities more sustainable," said Ward Hubbell, president of the GBI. "This policy is inclusive of all major green building rating systems in the U.S. and sets an example that we hope more states across the country will follow with their own sustainability initiatives."

Minnesota joins Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as states which have formally recognized Green Globes in green building legislation or regulation.

For more information about the Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system, or 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.