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GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE™ SHARES GROUND-BREAKING CLIMATE CHANGE CALCULATOR WITH ENTIRE GREEN BUILDING COMMUNITY

Portland, Ore. (February 26, 2007) — Last month, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) became the first organization in North America to develop a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool for integrating the evaluation of building assemblies in green building rating systems. Today, GBI is announcing its intention to grant permission to its consulting team to offer a generic version, free of charge, to the entire sustainable construction community.

Developed for use with the GBI's Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system for commercial buildings, the new software tool measures the global warming potential and other environmental impacts of more than 400 common building assemblies in low- and high-rise categories. It was created by Morrison Hershfield Consulting Engineers in association with the University of Minnesota's Center for Sustainable Building Research and the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, and features LCA results generated by the ATHENA® Environmental Impact Estimator software.

The tool is being reviewed by the GBI ANSI technical committee prior to its integration into Green Globes. However, recognizing the value of this one-of-a-kind climate change calculator to the entire North American building community, the GBI will be authorizing the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute to release a free generic version for use by other green building organizations, government entities, trade associations and universities.

"This tool is too important to keep to ourselves," said Ward Hubbell, executive director of the GBI. "Our mission is to make green building accessible to the mainstream design and construction community-and we see it as our duty to share important advancements for the betterment of the green building movement."

By making the tool available, other existing green rating systems (such as LEED^® and the National Association of Home Builders' Model Green Home Building Guidelines), federal and municipal governments, and others will be able to use the tool as they strive to achieve goals related to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from buildings-which are widely accepted to be major contributors to global climate change.

"While the green building community has long recognized the value of LCA and encouraged its use, this is the first time that mainstream professionals will have streamlined access to crucial data on building assemblies," said Hubbell. "This tool gives the public and private sectors the information they need to make informed choices about assemblies based on climate change and other environmental impacts."

GBI's consultants plan to release the generic version of the tool as early as April, following technical input from GBI's ANSI committee. Organizations interested in acquiring a free copy of the LCA tool once released will find it on the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute website at www.athenasmi.ca.

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
LCA considers materials over the course of their entire lives and takes into account a range of environmental impact indicators-including embodied energy, solid waste, air and water pollution, and global warming potential.

"The use of life cycle assessment will represent a shift in the way rating systems have traditionally approached green building," said Wayne Trusty, president of Athena and chair of the GBI's ANSI technical committee." Instead of rewarding materials or products for specific attributes, LCA analyzes environmental performance measures, such as global warming potential, thus giving designers the flexibility to choose how to achieve their environmental goals."

For more information about Life Cycle Assessment or the new LCA tool, 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.

ABOUT THE ATHENA SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS INSTITUTE: The Athena Institute is dedicated to sustainability of the built environment, a goal that can only be achieved by meeting the building community's need for better information and tools. From its Canadian offices, and through its U.S. affiliate, Athena Institute International, the not-for-profit Athena organization undertakes and directs various research and development activities that make it possible to factor environmental considerations into the design process from the conceptual stage onward. For more information, please visit www.athenasmi.ca.

ABOUT MORRISON HERSHFIELD: Morrison Hershfield is a multidisciplinary engineering and management firm. Engineering and design build services are provided to clients in the transportation, building, life sciences, municipal, utilities and telecommunications sectors. For more information, please visit www.morrisonhershfield.com.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA'S CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING RESEARCH: The Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR) was established as an official unit within the College of Design (formerly known as the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture) in 2001 although the staff has been conducting building research since 1997. Sponsors of CSBR projects include the U.S. Department of Energy, and state agencies such as the Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources and Transportation, and the Office of Environmental Assistance. Other sponsors include building industry sources such as Aspen Research Corporation. For more information, please visit www.csbr.umn.edu.