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NORTH CAROLINA RECOGNIZES GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE'S™ GREEN GLOBES™ SYSTEM
—State Becomes Ninth in U.S. to Formally Include Green Globes in Law—

Portland, Ore. (August 30, 2007) — North Carolina recently became the ninth state in the United States to formally recognize the Green Building Initiative's (GBI) Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system in legislation.

In order to encourage sustainable design principles and improve energy efficiency, the legislation, which is effective immediately, allows for cities and counties in North Carolina to reduce building permit fees or provide rebates for new or renovated buildings that achieve at least one Green Globe or an equivalent rating using another nationally recognized certification or rating system.

"We applaud North Carolina for aggressively encouraging sustainable design and construction practices with its new policy, and for making the improvement of our built environment an immediate priority," said Ward Hubbell, president of the GBI. "We hope more states across the country will follow this example with their own sustainability initiatives."

North Carolina joins Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, 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.