Longtime GBI leader, volunteer, educator, and assessor passed away on January 25, leaving an incredible legacy of contributions to sustainable building principles.
Portland, Ore. – The Green Building Initiative (GBI) Board of Directors and staff mourn the unexpected loss of longtime Director and recently elected Chair of the GBI Board, Dr. Charles Kibert. Dr. Kibert was a pioneer in the green building movement. He educated, mentored, and inspired as a professor at the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. At GBI, he was a senior statesman, having served on GBI’s Board of Directors since 2006. He served as Vice Chair of GBI’s consensus body and helped deliver Green Globes as an American National Standard. As a Green Globes Assessor, GBI community members benefited first-hand from his incredible knowledge, passion for improving buildings, and dedication to reducing climate impacts.
“Speaking for the Board, staff, and our standards community, we are so fortunate to have had Charles as a driving force in our leadership for more than a decade,” stated Vicki Worden, GBI President & CEO. “His passion for the environment and improving buildings infused every sentence and every effort to which he lent his time and expertise. He will be sorely missed, and our hearts go out to his family, fellow faculty, and students.”
The GBI Board will gather in February to pay tribute to Dr. Kibert. Worden noted, “Our leadership will do our part to ensure that Dr. Kibert’s incredible contributions go on to inspire many future generations.”
About Dr. Charles Kibert
Charles Kibert, Ph.D, was a professor at the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida, Director of the Powell Center for Construction and Environment, and a past-Director of the Rinker School. He was elected as Chair of the Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Board of Directors in December 2020, and he served in the leadership of GBI since 2006. He was a Green Globes Assessor (GGA), a registered professional engineer, and a Florida-certified mechanical contractor as well as co-founder and chairman of the Cross Creek Initiative, a non-profit industry/university joint venture that implemented sustainability principles into construction.
Dr. Kibert’s recent academic research focused on mitigating the impacts of climate change; the design of storm and flood resilient buildings; and high-volume manufacturing of post-disaster housing. Dr. Kibert published over 140 papers and books on construction, the environment, and related issues. He is the author of the first edition of the highly successful online publication Greening Federal Facilities. Among his most popular publications are Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery, 5th Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2002) and Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World (John Wiley & Sons 2011).