For the past 17 months, the General Services Administration (GSA) has been studying third-party green building certifications for federal construction and renovation projects. The GSA is the largest real estate owner in the U.S. and is required every five years under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to examine its green building policies. This past month, the GSA recommended the federal government continue to use LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), but also expand its options to include Green Globes as a second green building certification system.

While this is a big win for the U.S. Green Building Council, the developer of the LEED standard, this is an even bigger win for Green Building Initiative (GBI) which has been developing the alternative to LEED. Green Globes is a Web-based program for green building guidance and certification that includes an onsite assessment by a third party. Backed by industry, Green Globes offers a streamlined and affordable green building program. Green Globes has various programs (modules) - New Construction (NC), Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (CIEB) and CIEB for Healthcare.

For additional information on the Green Globes or the GSA decision click here or contact Tien Peng at TPeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.