From: Vicki Worden [vworden@thegbi.org] Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 11:54 AM To: J Dubow; N Morales; lbirney@thebrickcompanies.com; bwojt@menv.com; dbourland@enterprisecommunity.org; D Costello; delegatejanelawton@gmail.com; E Hughes; gwenbritt4u@yahoo.com; Hamid.omidvar@montgomerycountymd.gov; jrussum@energy.state.md.us; j.craighill@sber.com; info@gabriellidesignstudio.com; peschau@dhcd.state.md.us; rmt@jairlynch.com; mmitchell@mitchellbest.com; M Power; smcguire@dnr.state.md.us; sjsersen@asgidd.com; Spattison@mde.state.md.us; andrew.gray@mlis.state.md.us; CandaceD@mdmunicipal.org; dru@friendsofmd.org; john@homebuilders.org; papagni@mdhousing.org; kmaloney@mdstatebuilders.org; wedoodle@yahoo.com; rchambers@onelesscar.org; Patrice_Frey@nthp.org; kastover@thegbi.org; seitz@mdhousing.org; arosenblum@mncbia.org; toml@marks-thomas.com; nerwi@menv.com; tedi.osias@hocmc.org; wauburn@energy.state.md.us; ejacobsohn@energy.state.md.us; wbultman@senate.state.md.us; Tom@homebuilders.org; E Friedman; forbes@mdhousing.org; m.materkowski@sber.com; shubert@buchananpartners.com; D Baldwin; howellk@dhcd.state.md.us; varney-alvarado@mdhousing.org Subject: a request for your consideration Attachments: CSG res. final.pdf; MD-sb0092e.pdf; Calif - media.ppt; Green_Building_Rating_UofM.pdf Hello fellow committee members, Pls forgive this interruption to your day. But I wanted to get this note out to you before we meet tomorrow. It came to my attention that I managed to miss the opportunity to request that the Green Globes rating system be specifically mentioned alongside LEED in the commercial building recommendations. I will be making that formal request tomorrow and offer the brief message below and the materials attached for your review. * Green Globes is now recognized by 11 states--20%--alongside LEED in state passed and governor signed legislation, including Maryland. In Pennsylvania, for example, Green Globes is being used in complement to LEED—newcomers to green building are finding our web-based delivery a helpful tool for their first projects. * GBI uses an American National Standards Institute approved consensus process and the Green Globes rating system is on track to be published as an American National Standard in 2008 (more than 100 national experts participating including 4 federal agencies-EPA, GSA, DHHS, HUD, the AIA, ASHRAE, AGC, numerous states, City of Chicago, etc). * Two federal agencies—DHHS and DOI—recognize Green Globes and LEED in their written policies and the Whole Building Design Guide and other federal websites have been updated to include reference to Green Globes availability in the U.S. market; * Green Globes has undergone significant "vetting" by reputable organizations and users: · The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is recommending both Green Globes and LEED in letters to Congress...hard copy will be distributed tomorrow; · The Council of State Governments is specifically referencing both Green Globes and LEED, back up attached; · More than 11 New Construction and prominent buildings have been certified using Green Globes in the U.S., 8 of which were dual certified to LEED with similar results (Clinton Library, Pfizer CRU, Alberici HQ, etc.). More than 400 Green Globes projects are now underway in 25 states. · The Univ. of Minn. conducted a detailed comparison of the content in both systems recognizing they differ in process delivery but correspond 80-85% in content covered (see attached). · Environmental Building News has applauded GBI’s leadership in research related to Life Cycle Assessment of building assemblies so that rating systems can tie more directly to measurable environmental benefits (see slide in .ppt attached). * There are political issues with specifically recognizing only one system—saying equivalent doesn’t go far enough…a) mentioning only LEED creates a defacto mandate and also limits the pool of candidate buildings and practitioners likely to pursue Green for their projects; 2) political trends are moving away from mentioning specific rating systems (Gov. Schwarzenegger just vetoed a green building bill in California that mentioned only LEED); 3) …and moving toward using measurable criteria (rating system neutral) OR---if mentioning one mentioning all other national rating systems specifically. I hope you will find this information helpful as you consider this request. Also, our website provides a complete history of the development of Green Globes, its use and acceptance in Canada, and the additional areas of contribution that GBI has been making to green building across the U.S. Pls visit our site at www.thegbi.org. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow! Vicki Vicki L. Worden VP, Commercial Programs & Product Development Green Building Initiative www.thegbi.org/commercial vicki@thegbi.org 202-841-2999 (m)