ATLANTA — Green Building Initiative (GBI), a nonprofit organization committed to accelerating the adoption of sustainable building practices and providers of the Green Globes rating system, congratulated ASHRAE on achieving the highest rating, of four Green Globes, on its international headquarters.

Jerry Yudelson, president of Green Building Initiatives, presented the rating system certificate to ASHRAE President Tom Phoenix during ASHRAE's 2015 Winter Conference held in Chicago, Ill. 

"ASHRAE represents the gold standard for building energy efficiency standards. We're pleased that ASHRAE now stands at the pinnacle of achievement for green building, with the award of four Green Globes for its Atlanta headquarters building from the Green Building Initiative. Through a months-long process, GBI's Green Globes Assessor worked with ASHRAE staff to document the building's sustainable management practices. Only 3 percent of projects assessed by GBI achieve four Globes certification, so this recognition is a rare honor and a tribute to ASHRAE's enlightened building operations," Yudelson said.

Sustainable measures include ongoing benchmarking in ENERGYSTAR for energy and water consumption; energy audits through ASHRAE's Building Energy Quotient system; quarterly inspection and maintenance of systems containing ozone depleting substances; water audits for leaks and regular monitoring of recycling efforts and waste reduction and diversion rate.

"ASHRAE continues to analyze and support technologies and tools that help accelerate the transformation to a more sustainable built environment globally. As building sustainability rating systems gain more traction, they can guide building owners and operators, and the occupants they serve, on ways to create healthy indoor environments that also reduce the impact of buildings on outdoor environments. Sustainability rating systems complement consensus standards and progressive building codes as we continually advance building systems, designs and operations. We are delighted that our Headquarters building has earned the highest Green Globes rating to complement our original LEED Platinum rating," said Tom Phoenix, 2014-15 ASHRAE President.

The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards Development Organization dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices. Founded in 2004, the organization is the sole U.S. provider of the Green Globes and federal Guiding Principles Compliance green building certification programs.

Visit www.thegbi.org