Buildings have been getting progressively greener, and we don’t mean in color. The Green Building Initiative (GBI), an organization created in 2004 with the aim of bringing sustainable building practices into the mainstream, recently turned recently celebrated it’s 10^th year in operation.
The GBI was originally founded to help the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), an organization that endeavors to provide safe and affordable housing to all Americans. A year after forming, it became the first green building organization officially deemed fit to develop sustainability standards for construction.
In 2007 the GBI branched off and turned its attention to the commercial market. It created the Green Globes rating system, which sets the commercial standards for sustainable buildings and building practices. Two years later, the first version of the Green Globes Professional program was released, attempting to form a community of available experts across the nation.
By 2011 the GBI was the first organization to establish criteria for federal agencies committed to designing, constructing, and operating green establishments. The U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy recently recognized Green Globes as one of only two sustainable construction rating systems recommended for federal projects.
This year, the organization has introduced Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors, a rating system that assesses sustainability for interior design. It has also updated the national green building assessment standards for commercial building, and aims to create a new construction rating system in 2015. These new systems are oriented to tackle climate change, providing tools to business owners that will help them measure, monitor, and achieve sustainable outcomes.
Read up on the GBI and their case studies, and attend a webinar to learn more about Green Globes and other projects.