News Brief

Green Building Initiative Invests in Improving, Growing Green Globes

GBI has acquired the global rights to Green Globes as part of a strategy to expand the market reach of the rating system.

by James Wilson

Joseph Arnold Lofts, a residential high-rise building, earned three Green Globes.

The Joseph Arnold Lofts earned three Green Globes and is recognized as the first Green Globes Certified residential high-rise building in Seattle.

Photo: Benjamin Benschneider / ©Joseph Arnold Lofts
The non-profit Green Building Initiative (GBI) has acquired the worldwide rights to Green Globes from JLL, a private real estate and investment management firm. JLL had originally acquired the rating system in 2008 as part of a larger acquisition of ECD Energy and Environment Canada. GBI had been the licensee for Green Globes in the United States since 2004.

“The acquisition actually gets Green Globes to where it belongs,” said Bob Best, executive vice president of JLL. “JLL owned Green Globes for about ten years, and we were never the ideal owner for it. It should be managed and run by what I would call an industry-neutral organization.”

According to Vicki Worden, president and CEO of GBI, an updated version of the Green Globes for New Construction tool is forthcoming. Worden told BuildingGreen, “In this [new] version there’s been a lot of attention paid to making sure that there are pathways that will work for any building type.”

GBI has established GB Initiative Canada as a subsidiary organization to support the growth of Green Globes in the Canadian marketplace. Although there are no immediate plans to expand market reach beyond North America, GBI will support current clients who want to use Green Globes as a certification option for properties on other continents.

According to the organization’s website, as of January 2, 2018, a total of 1,328 buildings in the U.S. (totaling 280,920,871 square feet) have earned Green Globes certification through GBI. Of these, 848 projects were certified in the last five years.

For more information:

Green Building Initiative
thegbi.org

Green Globes
greenglobes.com

Published March 6, 2018

Wilson, J. (2018, March 6). Green Building Initiative Invests in Improving, Growing Green Globes. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/newsbrief/green-building-initiative-invests-improving-growing-green-globes

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