Carpet and Green Building: CRI’s Jeff Carrier on Green Globes

Carpet and Green Building: CRI’s Jeff Carrier on Green Globes Green Building Tool ~ online platform is easy to use and cost-efficient

It’s time for an update from Jeff Carrier, the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Manager of Sustainability and Indoor Air Quality.

In addition to his duties at CRI, Jeff is a member of the board of directors of the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes  green building program. Green Globes is an online environmental assessment tool that helps builders identify environmentally responsible building products and building methods. (See Jeff’s earlier blog article, Building It Green With Green Globes.) Green Globes offers an alternative to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program. I talked to Jeff about some of the key differences between the two programs, and what he likes about Green Globes.

BR: What has Green Globes been up to in the past year?

JC: Probably the most recent news is the launch of Green Globes for Healthcare software. The healthcare environment is tremendously vital to our communities and it makes a lot of sense that we now have the software to ensure the sustainability of these types of buildings. Probably the biggest announcement in the past year was the award of 173 Veterans Administration Hospital buildings to Green Globes. After a lengthy bid process, the VA clearly recognized the value and impact provided by Green Globes.

BR: Is it important to offer an alternative to USGBC’s LEED System? Why?

JC: I believe the more viable options available in the marketplace, the better. LEED is a valid system -- I don’t think anyone would say perfect -- but it functions. I also believe that writing a list of sustainable building attributes is not nearly as difficult as delivering that for certification. Sure, the fine points of the systems will be debated and refined as long as building certification systems are necessary, but the real trick is in the application of the system to the project. I believe that delivery is where Green Globes offers a real differentiation from LEED or other green building products.

BR: What accounts for Green Globes rapid growth?

JC: That’s a function of four things:

1) It does what it is intended to do - ensure and assess the sustainability of a building.

2) It is economical -- it compares favorably to other building certification products and has a distinct advantage over most others.

3) It’s a true consensus product as evaluated and accredited by the American National Standards Institute.

4) The software delivery platform is convenient and easy to use -- it’s intuitive and well-structured. You don’t have to be an engineer to comprehend and interact with it.

BR: What makes the platform so much easier to use?

JC: It’s an integrated package that brings your project together in a cohesive system. Commissioning,  as I understand, is much more streamlined than other building certification products. As for the Green Globes Professional training, it is also software-based and uses multimedia presentations to teach the essentials of how to work with the Green Globes software. Green Globes Assessor,naturally, is much more in-depth. However, it stays with the concept of multimedia software to guide the prospective assessor through the training process.

BR: What challenges does Green Globes face?

JC: Obviously, the economic slump of the past few years has made it tough on everybody. Despite that, people are still certifying the sustainability of their buildings.

I think another challenge is that LEED is very widely recognized in the market and many people don’t know that there is a viable and attractive option. The Green Building Initiative president Ward Hubbell has done a fantastic job working to ensure that Green Globes is recognized equally to LEED in state and federal legislation. Twenty-two states recognize Green Globes, and the platform is mentioned specifically in legislation. He and the rest of The Green Building Initiative staff have obviously been very successful with the federal government as well.

Thanks, Jeff!

Do you have questions for Jeff about Green Globes? Let us know in the comments.

~ Bethany