Building It Green With Green Globes

In this post, CRI Sustainability Manager Jeff Carrier, whom I interviewed in CRI Sustainability Manager Jeff Carrier On NSF 140 Standard for Sustainable Carpet, discusses Green Globes, a new option from GBI for commercial and residential builders looking for ways to help them build environmentally responsible homes. He shares an interview with Mark Rossolo, from Green Building Initiative [GBI] on the new Green Globes program.

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Building It Green With Green Globes - A New Option For Environmental Construction

While reading the newsletter from one of my favorite sustainability groups, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE, for short), I noticed that two University of Arkansas apartments had received Green Globes certification from the Green Building Initiative. I had heard of the GBI before and knew that they were allied with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), but I really wanted to know more about what they offered.

I called on Vicki Worden, who is the vice-president of commercial programs for the Green Building Initiative. I have known Vicki for a few months and I knew she was working very hard to grow her organization’s Green Globes program. Green Globes is an online environmental assessment tool that helps builders identify environmentally responsible building products and building methods. Unlike other green construction programs, Vicki had told me Green Globes is designed to be comprehensive and effective, while still offering builders an easy and inexpensive option to use in their construction projects.

[Screenshot of the questionnaire and the 'tool tip' box with useful suggestions.]

Vicki introduced me to Mark Rossolo, who is Green Globes’ director of state and local outreach. Mark graciously agreed to let me interview him for the CRI blog.

JC: What is the intent of Green Globes?

MR: Green Globes is intended to bring green building practices to mainstream builders. This means ensuring that all commercial buildings, regardless of size, budget or location have a tool that is credible and effective, while also being affordable and user-friendly.

[The automatic report generated by Green Globes which allows the
user to see how they are doing in each of the seven areas of assessment.]

JC: How did Green Globes’ alliance with the National Association of Home Builders come about?

MR: The GBI was formed in 2004 to help market and promote the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines to homebuilders across the country. The alliance was a natural fit, as we worked with local HBA chapters across the country to develop and market local green building programs. To date there are over 50 GBI-partner Home Builders’ Association (HBA) affiliates.

JC: What advantages does Green Globes provide that are not adequately addressed in other building programs?

MR: I think the real advantage is how Green Globes deals with energy issues. Green Globes for New Construction allots 36% of the total available points a project can earn to the energy category, and the tool utilizes the Energy Star Target Finder program for the energy modeling. Other programs do not allot as many points to energy as Green Globes does, and the others do not utilize Target Finder, which is generally regarded as the best program to predict actual energy performance because of its use of the Commercial Buildings Consumption Databases Survey (CBECS).

Green Globes is also the only mainstream commercial building tool that looks at Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The new version of Green Globes that is currently under consideration by ANSI to become an ANSI-certified standard will take this even further, as the new EcoCalculator LCA tool will be incorporated into Green Globes, ensuring that users of Green Globes will have access to the most comprehensive LCA tool available.

[Screenshot of supplementary information and recommendations for improvements page, which helps the user make design improvements to maximize environmental benefits.]

Another advantage to Green Globes is that it is an online, interactive tool. This makes it very affordable, and the format is user-friendly, which requires less staff time to use. Essentially, Green Globes costs a fraction of the price of other rating tools and takes a fraction of the time to use.

JC: Along those same lines, how is it differentiated?

MR: Green Globes acts as interactive environmental assessment tool, guiding the user through the green building process. Green Globes isn’t just a scorecard, it is a virtual green consultant! Users input the data into the questionnaire and are given instant feedback, including recommendations for improvement and supplementary information. This helps ensure that Green Globes users are part of a true learning experience.

JC: How do you see GBI positioned to compete in this arena?

MR: The GBI is positioned well to meet the growing demand for green rating tools that are practical and affordable. Given the current economy and the recently passed stimulus package, demand is continuing to grow for tools that are rigorous and credible, and the GBI and Green Globes’ mainstream appeal, is becoming an increasingly popular option.

JC: What’s next?

MR: Generally speaking, the GBI will continue our work to promote and increase green building practices, in both the commercial and residential sectors. The ANSI process for Green Globes will be wrapped up by the end of the year (likely fall ’09), ensuring that the first and only official American National Standard for commercial green building will be available in the market. The GBI will also continue our education and outreach efforts, offering free weekly webinars on green building and Green Globes, as we push to reach increased energy efficiency, carbon neutrality, and improved building performance.

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Thank you, Jeff and Mark, for educating us about GBI's new Green Globes online environmental building evaluation tool.

~ Bethany

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