The Green Building Initiative (GBI) announced today that it has named Jerry Yudelson as its president to accelerate growth of the non-profit and further leverage its green building assessment tools, including the highly recognized Green Globes® rating system, as it brings green building options to a larger audience of owners, designers, facility managers and investors.
(Bonus coverage: BD+C talks with Jerry Yudelson about his appointment and the future of Green Globes.)
Yudelson is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading green building and sustainability advocates and an internationally recognized keynote speaker. Formerly the President of Yudelson Associates in Tucson, AZ, he has authored 13 green building books, achieved recognition as a LEED® Fellow, and chaired the steering committee for Greenbuild®, the country's largest annual green building show, which he helped grow during its first eight years.
As the GBI’s president, Yudelson will oversee the growth of the non-profit, including the ongoing development, expansion and marketing of the Green Globes® green building rating system. His role will also include expanding understanding and use of GBI’s additional assessment tools, such as the GBI’s Guiding Principles Compliance tool, designed specifically to support compliance by federal agencies with President Obama’s green government requirements.
Ray Tonjes, Chairman of the GBI board and president of Ray Tonjes Builder in Austin, Texas, said, “We’re delighted to have someone of Jerry’s caliber in the green building industry step up to lead the GBI. With the recent update of Green Globes and recognition by the General Services Administration, as well as growing use by federal agencies and the Fortune 500 sector, the timing couldn’t be better. We are confident that the combination of Jerry’s leadership with GBI’s practical and credible assessment tools will be powerful catalysts for the growth of green building nationwide.”
“After many years promoting the advancement of green building and market transformation in the building industry, I’m pleased to be asked to lead the GBI at this key time in its development,” said Yudelson. “There is a huge audience of building owners, designers, and facility managers who are looking for more cost-effective and practical options to applying green building principles to every building. The GBI has a unique approach with its interactive, web-based Green Globes platform and on-site, independent third-party assessment. I’m excited by the opportunity to build on the GBI’s successes and help bring more focused green building and facility management options to new audiences.”
“The GBI provides tools that are simple to understand, easy to use and cost effective,” stated Yudelson. “This is a key differentiator for the GBI, and I look forward to encouraging the building community to actively participate in the ongoing development of the organization and its variety of market-driven programs.”
Jerry Yudelson is a professional engineer and an engineering graduate of Caltech and Harvard University; he also holds an MBA from the University of Oregon. He is also a National Peer Professional with the U.S. General Services Administration. From 2007-2009 he served as the Research Scholar for Retail Real Estate Sustainability with the International Council of Shopping Centers, a 70,000-member global organization. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural class of LEED Fellows by the U.S. Green Building Council.
About the Green Building Initiative
The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards Developer 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 Guiding Principles Compliance building certification programs. To learn more about opportunities to become involved in the GBI, contact Jerry Yudelson.
About Green Globes
Green Globes is a web-based program for green building guidance and certification that includes on-site reviews by an independent third party assessor. The program is administered in the United States by the GBI. Green Globes is a user-friendly assessment tool that is designed to advance the overall environmental performance and sustainability of commercial, government and institutional buildings.
The program certifies new construction and existing buildings. An additional assessment tool is the GBI’s Guiding Principles Compliance program for federal agencies. Also available are education and professional credentialing through the Green Globes Professional™, Green Globes Assessor™, and Guiding Principles Compliance Professional™ accreditation programs.
Related Stories
| Dec 23, 2014
5 tech trends transforming BIM/VDC
From energy modeling on the fly to prefabrication of building systems, these advancements are potential game changers for AEC firms that are serious about building information modeling.
| Dec 22, 2014
What Building Teams can learn from home builders' travails
Commercial and residential construction can be as different as night and day. But as one who covered the housing industry for nearly a decade, I firmly believe AEC firms can learn some valuable lessons from the trials and tribulations that home builders experienced during the Great Recession, writes BD+C's John Caulfield.
| Dec 22, 2014
Skanska to build Miami’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the 250,000-sf museum will serve as an economic engine and cultural anchor for Miami’s fast-growing urban core.
| Dec 22, 2014
Studio Gang to design Chicago’s third-tallest skyscraper
The first U.S. real-estate investment by The Wanda Group, owned by China’s richest man, will be an 88-story, 1,148-ft-tall mixed-use tower designed by Jeanne Gang.
| Dec 19, 2014
Zaha Hadid unveils dune-shaped HQ for Emirati environmental management company
Zaha Hadid Architects released designs for the new headquarters of Emirati environmental management company Bee’ah, revealing a structure that references the shape and motion of a sand dune.
| Dec 19, 2014
Chicago Architecture Biennial to hold 'Lakefront Kiosk Competition'
The first Chicago Architecture Biennial will take place from October 2015-January 2016, with a theme of "The State of the Art of Architecture."
| Dec 18, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West to be recreated—with LEGO
Containing more than 180,000 LEGO bricks in 11 colors and 120 different shapes, the model measures eight by four feet and is made entirely of standard LEGO parts.
| Dec 18, 2014
11 new highs for tall buildings: CTBUH recaps the year's top moments in skyscraper construction
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat cherrypicked the top moments from 2014, including a record concrete pour, a cautionary note about high-rise development, and two men's daring feat.
| Dec 18, 2014
International Parking Institute and Green Parking Council collaborate with GBCI
The new collaboration recognizes importance of sustainable parking facility design and management to the built environment.
| Dec 18, 2014
Top 10 sports facilities of 2014: Designboom ranks the year's best projects
The list includes some of the year's epic stadiums, such as World Cup Stadium Arena de Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and smaller projects, like the Spordtgebouw Sports Centerin the Netherlands.
