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GSA Gives Green Globes the Green Light

LeAndra Spicer : November 29, 2013

The General Services Administration recently recommended agencies within the Federal government have the option to use either the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes certification systems for green-building projects. According to GSA spokesman Dan Cruz, “When GSA made its first statutorily required recommendations in 2006 and 2008, there were very few green building certification systems in the marketplace. The market has changed since then, and there are additional tools for green building certification systems.

Previously, LEED was the sole green-building certification program endorsed by the GSA. The LEED program had come under serious scrutiny in recent months for its failure to recognize timber and wood products certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). LEED recognizes only wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Green Globes, on the other hand, accepts forest certifications from the FSC, SFI, ATFS, and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management System. This is good news for the forest industry as seventy-five percent of certified North American forests are qualified by organizations other than FSC.

Minimum Requirements

The number of points required for LEED certification differs per building project. The 110-point scale requires a minimum 40 points for certification designation and at least 80 points for platinum status. The GSA recommends Federal agencies achieve, at the minimum, certified status (40-49 points) if pursuing green building certification for existing buildings and silver status (50–59 points) for new construction or major renovation.

Green Building Certification	New Construction/ Renovation	Existing Buildings
LEED	Silver	Certified
Green Globes	Two Globes	One Globe

Levels listed are the recommended minimums.

Green Globes awards points on a 1,000 point scale, and like LEED, offers slight variations depending on the type of project involved. Categories include energy, water, materials and resources, emissions, and indoor environment. New construction points also include the areas of project management and site, whereas points for existing buildings consider environmental management. Two Globes represent 55-69% of points were achieved (550-690 points) while one Globe represents 35-54% of points (350-540 points).

Historical Perspective

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the GSA identify and recommend to the Secretary of Energy appropriate certification systems every five years. Just as the GSA had few certification systems other than LEED to choose from at the outset, the US Green Building Council accepted FSC standards given it was the only forest certification body in existence at the time. Why LEED continues to accept only FSC certification is unknown, though speculation points to strong support for FSC among environmental lobbies in which FSC has roots.

The competition between LEED and Green Globes is somewhat reminiscent of the relationship between the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. SFI was initially criticized, but over time the program has developed to a point where most observers consider it equal to FSC. Backed by the GSA’s recommendation, Green Globes may now be on a path to accomplish for green building what SFI has for forest certification.

To learn more, read our blog post Failing to LEED the Way Towards Sustainable Forestry.