The Green Globes assessment and rating system represents more than eleven years of research and refinement by a wide range of prominent international organizations and experts.
The genesis of the system was the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), In 1996, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) published BREEAM Canada for Existing Buildings. More than 35 individuals participated in its development, including representatives from federal and provincial departments, the National Research Council and University of Toronto.
In 2000, the system took a leap forward in its evolution, becoming an online assessment and rating tool under the name Green Globes for Existing Buildings. Also in that year, Canadian Department of National Defense and Public Works and Government Services supported the development of system for the Design of New Buildings. The product underwent a further iteration in 2002 by a team of experts including representatives from Arizona State University, the Athena Institute, BOMA and several federal departments including Public Works and Governments Services, and Natural Resources Canada.
Where is it used?
The Green Globes system is used in Canada and the USA. In the USA, Green Globes is operated by the Green Building Initiative (GBI). In Canada, the version for existing buildings is operated by BOMA Canada under the brand name ‘BOMA BESt’. The Green Globes system has also been used by the Continental Association for Building Automation (CABA) to power a building intelligence tool, called Building Intelligence Quotient ( BiQ).
In 2004, Green Globes for Existing Buildings was adopted by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA), where it now operates under the name BOMA BESt. In addition, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) acquired the rights to distribute Green Globes in the United States. The GBI has committed to continually refining the system to ensure that it reflects ongoing advances in research and technology, by involving stakeholders in an open and transparent process.
To that end, in 2005, GBI became the first green building organization to be accredited as a standards developer by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The GBI ANSI technical committee was formed in early 2006 and the official Green Globes ANSI standard was published in 2010.
Today, the Green Globes system is used by large developers and property management companies, including, the Canadian federal government, which has adopted the program for its entire real estate portfolio.
Who oversees the Green Globes system?
In Canada, BOMA BESt (for Existing Buildings) is operated by BOMA Canada. All other Green Globes products in Canada are owned and operated by ECD Energy and Environment Canada Ltd.
In the USA, the Green Building Initiative owns the license to promote and further develop Green Globes in the United States. GBI is an accredited standards developer under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The ANSI process is consensus-based and involves a balanced committee of users, producers, interested parties and NGOs. This committee conducted a thorough technical review through an ANSI-approved, open and transparent process. Moving forward, the standard will continue to be overseen by this committee and will continue to follow ANSI approved rules and procedures for updating the standard, which is the basis of the Green Globes system.