Portland, Ore. – The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is pleased to announce its newest rating system in its suite of green building certifications: Green Globes Journey to Net Zero. This transparent program supports building and portfolio owners’ efforts to establish baselines, measure progress, and assess compliance with building performance standards, municipal regulations, federal sustainability objectives, and ESG reporting requirements. The program completed its first round of public input in September 2023. This second call for input reflects progressive refinement of the rating system over the last four months.
“GBI’s Green Globes Journey to Net Zero program answers the industry’s call for a decarbonization rating system that also provides owners a way to third-party assess their progress toward net zero,” stated Vicki Worden, GBI President & CEO. “We are grateful for the overwhelming support for our 2023 pilot participants, resulting in 170 buildings joining the Journey, during our first round of public input. Through this early 2024 round of public input, our latest refinements are reflected in the program documentation and registration is now open to the entire commercial building industry.”
GBI simplifies certification and recognition of Net Zero achievements through two protocols:
- Green Globes Journey to Net Zero Energy (NZE) is focused on significantly reducing energy requirements in building operations and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. Its goal is to achieve a balance between the energy consumed by building operations and the energy generated from low to zero-emission sources like solar, hydro, geothermal, and wind.
- Green Globes Journey to Net Zero Carbon (NZC) aims to minimize greenhouse gas emissions through strategies that encourage life cycle thinking and decision-making. It targets the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions.
Through the Journey to Net Zero offerings, GBI supports new buildings and major renovations, existing buildings, tenant spaces, and portfolios with a time- and cost-effective assessment and certification process. The Green Globes Journey to Net Zero program along with the Green Globes NZ Calculator are designed to provide opportunities to assess progress over time.
All new buildings, major renovations, existing buildings, and portfolios may participate in GBI’s Green Globes Journey to Net Zero program, under one of three categories:
- Onramp (0-49% reduction in site EUI and/or carbon emissions)
- Recognized (50-99% reduction in site EUI and/or carbon emissions)
- Certified (100% reduction in site EUI and/or carbon emissions)
Toward continuous improvement, GBI seeks additional public input on the refined structure, methodology, and market alignment of its Net Zero protocols. Input will be reviewed by subject matter experts and considered for continuous improvement of the programs following procedures found in Public Input Procedures for Non-Standards. Interested parties should return their GBI Public Input Form to input@thegbi.org no later than February 23, 2024.
Separately, owners may now register their buildings and portfolios with GBI’s Green Globes Journey to Net Zero program. Users will be assigned a GBI Project Manager, and when ready for evaluation, a third-party Green Globes Assessor will confidentially review building/ portfolio data. The GGA will input available data into the Green Globes NZ Calculator on the owner’s behalf. Following a review of data inputs and documentation, a report will be provided containing the results and personalized recommendations for improvement. Projects that meet minimum requirements, that have completed third-party assessment, and demonstrated greater than 50% reduction in site EUI and/or carbon emissions are eligible for recognition or Green Globes Journey to Net Zero certification.
The project team for each participating building will receive a report with recommendations based on its progress, even if ineligible at the time of validation for recognition. These programs are designed to support every building or portfolio owner on their journey toward net zero objectives.
Register your building or portfolio to evaluate your progress and achieve net zero.
Please direct any questions to info@thegbi.org.