The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has introduced a new certification program called Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors (SI), which targets interior design of non-residential buildings. The rating system features six environmental assessment areas: energy; project management; water; materials and resources; indoor environment; and emissions and other impacts. A checklist outlines available points for each assessment area.

Here, green building strategist Sandra Lester explains the new program and how it compares to LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI).

How would you describe GBI’s new Green Globes for SI rating system?

The new Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors rating system is a comprehensive standard for interior designers and the consultants who  work with them. In every standard there is an opportunity for the designer and the consultants to learn something new, and to use it as a springboard for creating better, more effective spaces that have less impact on our natural systems.

I liked the ability to go through the checklist like a survey. I didn’t see a summary checklist of the questions, but that would be useful as a shorthand summary to guide a meeting or to have in one glance.

The tips that are shown throughout the survey help to explain the terminology, although sometimes diagrams would bring more clarity than more text because designers tend to be visual learners. I didn’t see a way to print the tips, and sometimes that would be useful too.

How does it compare to LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI)?

In LEED-CI there is one credit for IAQ Management: During Construction and you either follow SMACNA’s (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association) Guidelines for Occupied Spaces and get the credit, or your don’t. In this fashion, LEED is digital, either getting most credits or not, there is little compensation for doing something halfway.

The Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors rating system gives credit for implementing the strategies in the SMACNA guideline that are feasible for a project. For example, it is not always feasible to provide air exhaust for a space that is under construction but HVAC protection and other measures should be considered and implemented where feasible. This level of detail encourages these green practices to be implemented where it is feasible.

There is a page within the LEED-CIv1.0 Letter Templates where the sustainability consultant assigns responsibility for a prerequisite or credit. The fact that Green Globes does not have this feature is both good and bad – good in that a task cannot be assigned to someone to work in isolation; yet bad that it downplays the team coordinator role, in which someone takes responsibility for achieving that feature.

Also, the LEED rating systems are well known for paperwork-intensive documentation requirements and LEED for Commercial Interiors is no exception. Although tedious and painful during a project, it does make for a more robust and reliable certification process than just a signature on a statutory declaration. That being said, I am not as familiar with the whole Green Globes verification process.

What are the challenges and rewards associated with these types of certifications?

There are many challenges to these types of certifications. It is intended that the project team work together to develop an integrated design solution that meets their client’s goals. Yet project teams usually work mostly in isolation.

You get credit for putting in materials that have sustainable features but it is difficult to measure the impact of the interior design scheme that has less materials, and is easily reconfigurable.

There are no guidelines on the values that are associated with these strategies and initiatives. Why would a designer want to specify FSC-certified lumber for a reception desk in a law firm? What does that say about that firm?

Every project involves clients – what are their goals for the project? How do these green building initiatives map onto their organizational goals?

Where do they want to go as an organization? Does this interior space help them meet those organizational goals or will it be demolished in five years’ time?

Does this new space help an organization break down silos and see the world in which it operates as a system that is dependent on the natural systems that support us physiologically and spiritually?

Are there alternatives to Green Globes and LEED for CI?

Australians  live closer to the outback on a fragile piece of rock that does not have much resiliency, and that setting has an effect on their philosophy and their mindset. Green Star – Office Interiors v1.1 and Green Star – Interiors PILOT has just been launched in Australia. There is mention that there is a reward for reducing material usage and for carbon emission reductions. They also mention that they discuss ways to ‘future proof your tenancy’. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the development of this rating system.

Also being developed in the United Kingdom is the BREEAM Non-Domestic Refurbishment and Fit-Out 2014. The preview states that Part 4 will have assessment for Interior Design, for “Full Refurbishment,” “Cat B Fitout,” and “Interior Refresh.” The fact that there is a differentiation between these categories is an indicator of conscientiousness, so we will be looking forward to reviewing the draft of this standard soon.

It looks like green interiors are finally coming of age. May they help create organizations that are conscientious and considerate as well.

Sandra Lester is a green building strategist with Affecting Change Inc. in Toronto. She works as a sustainability consultant on projects in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom and is frequently a guest lecturer and course instructor at universities in Canada. She can be reached at sandra@affectingchange.com.