The Green Building Initiative™ (GBI) released its proposed green building standard—known as the “GBI Proposed American National Standard 01-2008P: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings”—for public comment on April 30. The not-for-profit GBI’s mission is “to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier, and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches.” Accessible on the GBI Web site, the proposed standard is based on the Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system and will be available for public comment through June 9. The proposed standard incorporates new elements developed by GBI ANSI technical committees that include representatives from organizations such as the AIA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. General Services Administration, American Lung Association, and many more. New elements incorporated into the proposed standard include the Green Globes LCA Credit Calculator for Building Assemblies, which incorporates life-cycle assessment (LCA) into the system, and a new requirement to achieve a minimum number of points in each of the system’s seven areas of assessment. For more information or to comment, visit GBI’s Web site.