News

GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE™ JOINS AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS COALITION URGING CONGRESSIONAL PROVISIONS TO REDUCE ENERGY USE AND ACHIEVE CARBON NEUTRALITY

Portland, Ore. (November 20, 2007) — In response to provisions in the recent House- and Senate-passed energy bills to improve the energy efficiency of federal facilities, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) joined a Coalition led by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) by co-signing a letter to Congress expressing support for the bills while at the same time urging the consideration of certain provisions.

The letter, which was co-signed by organizations such as the Alliance to Save Energy, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, American Planning Association, American Society of Landscape Architects, Construction Owners Association of America and the National Society of Professional Engineers, praised the fact that both the House and Senate bills call for new federal buildings to reduce their carbon footprints by meeting a series of increasing targets until 2030 (when all federal buildings are required to be carbon neutral).

The letter asked that any final energy bill passed by Congress include a requirement stipulating that renovations of existing federal buildings meet the same carbon reduction goals. It also asked that the final bill include both commercial green building rating systems currently being used by the federal government, the GBI's Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED system.

To view a full copy of the Coalition's letter, please click here. For more information about the GBI and the Green Globes system, 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.