Green Globes
A simpler, faster and more affordable way to green building and an internationally recognized alternative to LEED.
What is Green Globes?
Both Green Globes and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) were adapted from the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in the U.K. The first version of Green Globes, BREEAM Canada for Existing Buildings, which evolved into the BOMA BESt program, was first published by the Canadian Standards Association in 1996. In 2004, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) acquired the rights to distribute Green Globes in the United States.
The newest version of Green Globes, the ANSI/GBI 01-2010 Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings, was developed following the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) highly regarded consensus-based guidelines. ANSI is a premier source for timely, relevant, actionable information on national, regional, and international standards and conformity assessment issues. The Green Globes Family of Rating Systems offers five levels of certification, 1–5 Green Globes in Canada and four levels of certification in the U.S., with seven areas of assessments, including Project Management, Site, Water, Energy, Emissions, Indoor Environment and Resources.
How Does Green Globes Compare to LEED?
Green Globes is an internationally recognized alternative to LEED. The similarity of the Green Globes and LEED Ratings Systems has been studied in detail in the landmark University of Minnesota Study led by Associate Professor Timothy M. Smith. The study cited that over 85% of the categories specified in LEED 2.2 are addressed in Green Globes.
Green Globes Point Allocations
LEED Point Allocations
Beyond the similarities between the rating systems Green Globes has been found to have several advantages over LEED that include:
- Simpler: Both Green Globes for New Construction and Green Globes for the Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings, BOMA BESt in Canada, have a greater focus on lowering energy consumption than does the LEED Rating Systems. This allows building owners to focus their efforts on sustainable building strategies that have the greatest payback. No more point chasing.
- Faster: The Green Globes certification process takes much less time than the LEED certification process. Typically certification is complete by the end of the project’s construction.
- More Affordable: Typically Green Globes Certification is less than half the cost of LEED Certification as the emphasis is on sustainable building analysis as opposed to the production of large amounts of documentation by the consultant and construction team.