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comment CSI and USGBC Strengthen Their Collaboration
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)—the nation’s leading organization dedicated to creating standards and formats for construction documentation and project delivery—and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—the nation’s leading organization dedicated to expanding green building practices—have committed to providing an open exchange of information about green building and maintenance practices for facilities through their lifecycles. The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during USGBC’s November 2007 Greenbuild conference, strengthening a 1999 agreement between the two organizations.
“This partnership is important to both organizations because together we can advance sustainable buildings and especially the materials that go into constructing them,” says Ross Spiegel, FAIA, former president of CSI and CSI’s liaison to USGBC for the past 14 years. “With CSI’s leading role in the area of building materials and USGBC’s leading role in creating tools that measure the sustainability of building projects, together they can bring about changes in the way design professionals evaluate, select, and use building materials on LEED-certified projects.”
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Spiegel says that the groups’ first considerations will be education, professional certification and accreditation, and product evaluation and standards. The organizations hope that the MOU will eventually lead to the development of documentation guidelines for practices and procedures related to environmental responsibility. The groups also hope to coordinate on the use of their continuing education networks and training programs to assist building-product manufacturers and designers in maintaining their familiarity with LEED requirements.
The announcement comes just five months after CSI announced an online questionnaire and product listing service, GreenFormat, that will allow manufacturers to report on their products’ environmental qualities. While the nature of the MOU’s role in GreenFormat remains uncertain, Spiegel believes the link will be key. “I strongly believe that launching and populating GreenFormat can become an important outcome of the MOU,” he says, noting that the subject will be on the agenda at the organizations’ first joint meeting. Both BuildingGreen and McGraw-Hill Construction (which contribute to and publish GreenSource, respectively) have connections to GreenFormat. BuildingGreen is providing technical support in its development and will use the resulting information to enhance its GreenSpec product directory, and McGraw-Hill will use the tool in its online Sweets directory.
This article was produced by BuildingGreen, Inc.- www.buildinggreen.com
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