After nearly a full year of committee meetings adhering to the rigorous ANSI consensus process, the Green Globes' first Public Comment review of roughly 600 comments concluded this past month. NRMCA Vice President, Sustainability Tien Peng participated as a member of the Consensus Body and Site subcommittee. The Green Globes' green building rating system standard first launched in 2006 in the U.S., competing for market share against the popular U.S. Green Building Council’s counterpart, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Green Globes is an alternative to LEED for federal building and the Department of Defense decided to allow its facilities to use the Green Globes certification program. Key updates to the standard considered limits on urban heat island mitigation, adoption of the new transparency movement with environmental product declarations, addition of life cycle cost analysis, new stormwater management calculations and consideration of disaster resilience.

The revised standard, designated BSR/GBI 01-201X according to ANSI protocol, is now available on GBI’s Web site along with a public comment form. The official public comment period will begin Friday, November 11, and run through Monday, December 26 

 

Green buildings are a growth sector and the concrete industry needs to be engaged. NRMCA’s Build with Strength, coalition promotes concrete building systems through communications, project promotion, education and advocacy and will assist project teams meet the requirements in the various green building standards.