by Brianna Crandall — December 10, 2014—The Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing technology industry benchmarks for sustainability practices in the built environment, and the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a nonprofit organization committed to accelerating the adoption of sustainable building practices, are partnering to maximize the potential of “smart,” “green,” high-performance buildings by strengthening the link between green building and information communication technologies (ICT) and working towards the inclusion of ICT in sustainable building requirements.
STEP and GBI, the organization behind the Green Globes building certification program, will work together to accelerate the adoption of green building practices, respond to public policy directives, and develop joint standards for sustainable information communication technologies (ICT). Since the organizations share a commitment to promoting the development of sustainable industries nationally, they are exploring the development of joint training and Webinars for educating building industry professionals, and plan to facilitate cooperative activities including the promotion of harmonious standards, a newsletter exchange, and an ongoing dialogue between members and industry leaders.
An October 2014 U.S. Department of Energy ruling recognized Green Globes and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program as the only two acceptable green building rating systems for new federal buildings and major renovations. This new rule presents an opportunity for ICT to be considered in the certification of sustainable buildings, note STEP and GBI. Both organizations believe that sustainable certification must be standards-based, and plan to cooperate in developing joint ANSI-approved standards based on ANSI consensus procedures.
