Virginia, South Dakota Recognize GBI’s Green Globes System

PORTLAND, OR - Virginia and South Dakota recently became the 13^th and 14^th states in the United States to formally recognize the Green Building Initiative's^TM (GBI) Green Globes^TM environmental assessment and rating system in legislation.

In Virginia, to promote energy-efficient building practices, House Bill 239 and its companion Senate Bill 174 will create a separate class of real estate for tax purposes, beginning July 1, 2008, for buildings that meet one of the following criteria:

• Exceed the energy efficiency standards prescribed in the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by 30 percent;
• Meet or exceed performance standards of the GBI's Green Globes system, the EarthCraft House program or the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED^® program; or
• Qualify as an ENERGY STAR home.

In South Dakota, Senate Bill 188 established high-performance building design and construction standards for newly constructed or renovated state-owned buildings by requiring the majority of state buildings to meet or exceed the following criteria:

• A two Globe rating using the GBI's Green Globes system;
• A LEED silver rating; or
• A comparable numeric rating under a sustainable building certification program recognized by the American National Standards Institute as an accredited standards developer.

"We applaud the states of Virginia and South Dakota for aggressively encouraging sustainable construction through these pieces of legislation," says Ward Hubbell, president of the GBI. "Decisions such as these, which give design and construction professionals multiple options for meeting the common goal of energy efficiency, will surely result in the increased adoption of sustainable construction practices."

Virginia and South Dakota join Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, New Jersey, and Wisconsin as states that have formally recognized Green Globes in green building legislation or regulation.

For more information about the Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system, or the GBI, visit www.thegbi.org.

About GBI 
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, visit www.thegbi.org.