Green Globes Building Certification: Assessing the environmental performance of commercial real estate

Overview

Green Globes is a science-based building certification programme developed to assess and improve the environmental performance of commercial real estate. Administered by the nonprofit Green Building Initiative (GBI), the certification is used for new construction projects, existing buildings, interiors, and major renovations. The certification evaluates whole-building performance rather than individual sustainability measures in isolation. Assessment categories include energy efficiency, water conservation, materials selection, indoor environmental quality, site management, resilience, and operational performance.

Green Globes is primarily used in North America and is recognised as one of the major commercial green building certification systems alongside LEED. The programme is designed to provide a flexible and comparatively streamlined certification process, combining online self-assessment tools with third-party verification. The certification is applicable to a wide range of commercial property types, including offices, healthcare facilities, higher education buildings, industrial facilities, multifamily properties, data centres, and retail developments.

Applying for the Green Globes Certification

Organisations seeking Green Globes certification typically complete a multi-stage assessment and verification process coordinated through the Green Building Initiative.

• Project registration: Building owners or project teams register a building or development project with GBI and select the appropriate Green Globes programme for new or existing buildings.

• Online self-assessment: Applicants complete an online questionnaire covering building performance categories such as energy, water, materials, indoor environment quality, and site management. Supporting documentation is submitted through the certification platform.

• Third-party assessment: An independent Green Globes assessor reviews the submitted information and conducts an on-site evaluation to verify building performance and sustainability measures.

• Scoring and certification level: Buildings receive points across multiple environmental assessment categories and are awarded a certification rating based on overall performance.

• Ongoing performance improvement: Existing buildings may periodically update assessments and monitor operational performance improvements over time.

Current Status

Green Globes remains an active and widely used commercial green building certification system in North America. The programme continues to expand across sectors including offices, healthcare, higher education, multifamily housing, logistics, and data centres. Green Globes certification standards are periodically updated through ANSI-approved assessment protocols developed for its different certification tracks.

Resources

• https://thegbi.org/assessment-certification/green-globes-certification

• https://thegbi.org/participation/green-building-standards/new-construction/

• https://thegbi.org/participation/green-building-standards/existing-buildings/

• https://thegbi.org/participation/green-building-standards/sustainable-interiors-draft-standard/

• https://thegbi.org/participation/green-building-standards/core-and-shell-draft-standard/