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YEAR TWO DELIVERS POSITIVE RESULTS FOR GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE^TM
—Non-Profit Celebrates Achievements, Sets Stage for Future—

Portland, Ore. (November 1, 2006) —After just two years in operation, the Portland-based Green Building Initiative (GBI) has made significant progress toward its goal of accelerating the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to "bringing green to the mainstream," the GBI has worked tirelessly to introduce and enhance its portfolio of practical and credible tools for the residential and commercial building markets. Today, as a result, the GBI is able to report a number of distinct achievements.

GBI Leads the Way in Developing Consensus-based Standard for Commercial Green Building
Last year, the GBI began the process to establish the Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system for commercial structures as the first green building standard recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a consensus standard. In keeping with ANSI protocol, the GBI has since facilitated the creation of an independent 30-person technical committee, which is conducting a thorough review of the system.

Chaired by Wayne Trusty of the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, the committee represents a balance of users, producers and interested third parties and includes representatives from organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Lung Association, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, American Institute of Architects and Associated General Contractors.

"Although other standards are commonly referred to as consensus-based, they are neither developed nor maintained through an independent, third-party process for consensus development," said Ward Hubbell, executive director of the GBI. "By choosing a recognized consensus process, we've put Green Globes in the collective hands of talented experts in the many inter-related fields that comprise green building, who will in turn ensure that it reflects the best science and practices available."

Green Globes Gains Traction Across the U.S.
Green Globes for new construction continues to capture the attention of design professionals in the U.S. Widely used in Canada, Green Globes includes an assessment protocol, rating system and guide for integrating environmentally friendly design into commercial buildings. It offers an affordable and flexible approach to environmental design, making it practical for use by mainstream professionals.

Green Globes assessments were completed for several new buildings during the year, including the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Arkansas, the Pfizer Inc. Clinical Research Unit in Connecticut, the Wisconsin Electrical Employees Benefit Fund Office in Wisconsin, and the RenewAire, LLC corporate headquarters, also in Wisconsin. In addition, nearly 70 buildings across the country are currently using the Green Globes system at some stage of design, construction or evaluation.

Doug Steege, vice president of marketing and sales for RenewAire, LLC, a company which produces commercial and residential energy recovery ventilators and had their corporate headquarters recognized by Green Globes in June, said "Our products are used in the sustainability arena, so we were naturally drawn to making our headquarters green. The additional recognition from Green Globes helps us to showcase our desire to play a leadership role in sustainability within the construction industry."

In terms of education, the GBI trained more than more than 1,000 architects, builders, developers and government officials in the use of the Green Globes system, through a series of presentations as well as classroom and online seminars.

Undergraduate architecture students across the country - at Arizona State University, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and the University of California at Berkeley - also began using the system as part of a special student education program from the GBI. In addition, 10 people are undergoing training as Green Globes verifiers, which will allow them to verify Green Globes ratings through GBI's preliminary and on-site verification process.

An updated version of the system, Green Globes v.1, was also introduced in 2006 and slated for release late in the year. The v.1 module reflects modifications based on lessons learned during the first U.S. pilot assessment. Changes were non-substantive and included, among other things, more specific definitions and greater consistency with terms commonly used in the U.S.

Green Globes for New Construction is also slated to be joined by a second module - Green Globes for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings. In addition to benchmarking energy and environmental performance across an entire portfolio of buildings, regular assessments help to identify and address problem areas that may result in unnecessarily high operating costs. The Continual Improvement module is currently in the pilot stage and will be released in 2007

Finally, Green Globes was formally recognized by six states -- Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Maryland and Connecticut -- for its ability to contribute to sustainable design and construction of public buildings. Green Globes was also being recognized by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services as a recommended rating system for construction of its new facilities, and the system was included in the EPA's "Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers" on the Whole Building Design Guide.

Residential Program Constructs More than 2,000 Homes and Counting
In residential construction, the GBI's unique partnership with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has enabled it to work with local Home Builder Associations to develop and launch green building programs in 16 major housing markets. These programs are based on the popular NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which will undergo their own ANSI standard development process in the coming year.

GBI assisted green home construction and certification programs have been launched in markets such as Houston, Albuquerque, Durham and Cleveland, and more than 2,000 homes have been built using the guidelines.

"As a builder in Houston for 25 years, I've seen demand increase for green building options," said Brian Binash, chair of the green building sub-committee of the Greater Houston Builders Association. "Our new green building program goes a long way toward helping homeowners throughout the Houston area enjoy the benefits of green built homes."

The GBI provides support to HBAs in areas such as regional adaptations of the guidelines, marketing, development of verification protocols, and education. To date, the GBI has helped to promote sustainable construction practices to hundreds of local builders by hosting educational seminars taught by nationally recognized green building experts such as Peter Pfeiffer and Carl Seville, and by co-hosting seminars in partnership with the Energy & Environmental Building Association (EEBA).

Setting the Stage for Improvement
"With another successful year behind us, we're delighted that so many people now look to the Green Building Initiative for practical and affordable ways to build green," said Hubbell. "We look forward to seeing how our work with both Green Globes and the NAHB Guidelines will evolve through their respective ANSI processes. Of particular importance in the commercial arena is the ability building owners and operators will have to bridge the gap between sustainable design and operational performance using Green Globes for New Construction and its newest companion in the U.S. market, Green Globes for Continual Improvement."

For more information on the Green Building Initiative, please visit www.thegbi.org.

ABOUT THE GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE: The mission of the Green Building Initiative is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches. A not-for-profit education initiative, the GBI is supported by a broad cross section of organizations and individuals with an interest in residential and commercial construction. For more information on the Green Building Initiative, please visit www.thegbi.org.