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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR FORMALLY RECOGNIZES GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE'S™ GREEN GLOBES™ SYSTEM

Portland, Ore. (June 4, 2007) — In accordance with last year's Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) recently approved an implementation plan which formally recognizes the Green Building Initiative's (GBI) Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system—as well as various approved alternatives—as a sustainable construction tool for all of the agency's new construction and renovation projects.

Through the use of tools such as Green Globes, the DOI, an organization responsible for the oversight and conservation of more than 40,000 buildings, will look to reduce the total ownership cost of facilities, improve energy-efficiency and water conservation, provide safe, healthy and productive built environments, and promote sustainable environmental stewardship.

"This is a very big step forward," said Ward Hubbell, president of the Portland-based non-profit GBI. "By avoiding the mandate to use of any one particular rating system, the DOI has chosen to focus on the end result and opened the door for any system able to facilitate the achievement of sustainability goals for building design and operation. This is something we believe is necessary to stimulate the kind of healthy competition that leads to innovation and improvement—and, ultimately, better buildings."

Among its many directives, the Implementation Plan calls for a "formal measurement of sustainable performance" on all occupied buildings with a cost of $2 million or more using a certification system such as Green Globes, and a requirement that, at a minimum, the buildings achieve a one Globe or equivalent rating. The DOI joins public sector institutions such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the states of Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota in formally recognizing Green Globes.

For more information about Green Globes or the work of the GBI, 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.