The Green Building Initiative (GBI) today announced the launch of a new certification program specific to design of interiors of commercial and institutional buildings, according to GBI president Jerry Yudelson.
The new program, Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors, focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in non-residential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces. When pursuing Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors certification, tenants can focus on both designing new and/or improving their existing interior space to Green Globes standards without the need to certify an entire building.
“One of the aspects that makes Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors so versatile–and practical–is that it enables tenants to certify the specific environmental and sustainability attributes of the space they lease,” Yudelson said. “Other certifications include aspects of the entire building and surroundings, and as a result, tenant improvements can be penalized for conditions they do not control.”
As with all Green Globes rating programs, Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors utilizes a third-party assessor who reviews actual building characteristics and documentation. However, Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors has no prerequisites, which – if required – could unfairly penalize building projects and possibly result in their inability to use a green building rating system. The Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program requires that interior designers and tenant project teams address only those sustainability criteria within their “domain of influence.”
The Green Globes 1,000-point scale utilizes weighted criteria; the assigned number of points for individual criteria reflects their relative impact and/or benefit to sustainability of the tenant improvements. Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors includes six environmental assessment areas: Project Management, Energy, Water, Materials & Resources, Emissions and Other Impacts, and Indoor Environment.
In addition to assessing all elements of an interiors project, Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors emphasizes the key performance indicators (KPIs) of energy, materials and indoor environment. Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors does not deal with site characteristics, instead focusing all criteria on parameters within the scope of a typical tenant improvement, resulting in lower costs for certification.
Similar to the Green Globes for New Constuction program, Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors includes a dual-pathway approach to materials choices for interior fit-outs, utilizing either lifecycle assessment (LCA) or Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Interior designers are rewarded for using multi-purpose furniture, modular furniture and casework solutions, and other interior fit-out elements that can be easily reconfigured. Additional points are awarded for reuse of existing interior fit-outs, including finishes, furnishings, and other non-structural elements. The Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors rating system also includes direct reference to other industry standards such as the new “level” sustainability standard of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA).
“The Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program will be especially attractive to tenants who want to improve their workspace sustainability in situations where a landlord does not plan to address changes in other tenant or common spaces,” Yudelson said.
For more information on Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors visit http://www.thegbi.org/green-globes/sustainable-interiors.shtml, or download a PDF on the program here: http://thegbi.org/URL
About the Green Building Initiative
The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards Developer dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices. Founded in 2004, the organization is the sole U.S. provider of the Green Globes® and federal GBI Guiding Principles Compliance building certification programs. To learn more about opportunities to become involved in the GBI, contact Jerry Yudelson or visit the GBI website, www.thegbi.org.
Related Stories
| Mar 14, 2012
Hyatt joins Thornton Tomasetti as VP in Chicago
A forensic specialist, Hyatt has more than 10 years of experience performing investigations of structural failures throughout the U.S.
| Mar 14, 2012
Tsoi/Kobus and Centerbrook to design Jackson Laboratory facility in Farmington, Conn.
Building will house research into personalized, gene-based cancer screening and treatment.
| Mar 13, 2012
China's high-speed building boom
A 30-story hotel in Changsha went up in two weeks. Some question the safety in that, but the builder defends its methods.
| Mar 13, 2012
Commercial glazer Harmon expanding into Texas
Company expanding into the Texas market with a new office in Dallas and a satellite facility in Austin.
| Mar 13, 2012
Worker office space to drop below 100-sf in five years
The average for all companies for square feet per worker in 2017 will be 151 sf, compared to 176 sf, and 225 sf in 2010.
| Mar 12, 2012
Improving the performance of existing commercial buildings: the chemistry of sustainable construction
Retrofitting our existing commercial buildings is one of the key steps to overcoming the economic and environmental challenges we face.
| Mar 9, 2012
2012 Giants 300 survey due Friday, April 13
See how your firm ranks among the AEC industry leaders.
| Mar 7, 2012
Firestone iPad app offers touch technology
Free app provides a preview of Firestone’s Roots to Rooftop Building Envelope Solution with an overview of all the products from ground and stormwater management solutions, to complete wall panel and commercial roofing system applications.
