Letter from the Chair of the Board

It was an honor to serve as Chair Elect during GBI’s 20th year and celebrate along with 2024 Board Chair Tim Thiel, the Board, and the staff the many accomplishments of this impactful initiative that started in 2004.

Advocacy in action. As a volunteer leader of GBI, it has been incredibly rewarding to share my passion for the built environment. In 2024, I was able to join the staff and GBI Executive Committee in meetings with members of Congress and federal agency staff to discuss the enormous need we have to positively impact buildings today — there is no time to waste.
We shared the pace of construction that’s ahead of us, with 2.6 trillion square feet of space being added to the global building stock by 2060 and the fact that 80% of tomorrow’s buildings are already standing today. That’s a tremendous responsibility.

As an architect and sustainability advocate, I believe in the benefits of decarbonization and traveled along with former Chair Tim Thiel and other GBI leaders to national and international events to share my experience creating buildings that reflect life cycle thinking. A highlight of our experience was working with the Biden/Harris Administration on an industry definition of zero-emissions buildings. This definition was then incorporated into GBI’s Journey to Net Zero program, which 154 buildings successfully completed in 2024 during the pilot phase.

Volunteering is rewarding. It’s incredible to see the inner workings of GBI as Chair of the Board, and I want to express my sincere thanks to the many passionate volunteers that keep GBI at the leading edge. From the subject matter experts who advance Green Globes through the ANSI continuous maintenance process, to the speakers at our hugely successful first annual Data Center Seminar, to the 30-plus candidates who volunteered for open seats on GBI’s Board in 2024, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to leverage individuals throughout our community. We are grateful for your time, talent, and contributions.

I urge everyone in our community to reach out to the GBI team to find your unique opportunity to level up your participation. Our future is being built today. Volunteering with GBI can help ensure it’s a great one.

Alison Hoagland

Principal | Mackenzie
Chair | Board of Directors

Letter from the CEO

GBI’s 20th anniversary was its highest impact year with 598 buildings assessed, adding to an all-time assessment total that is approaching one billion square feet. 

Exponentially increasing our positive impact. We believe that every building we touch has a team attached to it who learn from that project, from our staff, from the application of our standards, and from our expert assessors. So GBI’s actual impact on the global built environment is exponentially greater — and more positive — than mere numerals
can show.

Globally minded evangelists. Tim Thiel, Chair of the GBI Board in 2024, helped me kick off GBI’s most globally focused year yet with a joint presentation on our Journey to Net Zero program at MIPIM, the world’s leading real estate event. At that event, we met thousands of people collaborating to improve the built environment and discussed circularity, decarbonization, and data-driven approaches to evaluating our existing building stock. Tim spoke at more events than any previous GBI Chair, including the Construction Specifications Institute’s and New Buildings Institute’s annual meetings. We are grateful for his incredible leadership and evangelism of our vision for sustainable, healthy, and resilient buildings for all.

Our global expansion year continued with Board member, now Chair Elect, Sumayyah Theron joining me for GBI’s first international trade mission to the United Arab Emirates, where GBI certified more than one million square feet of space in Dubai.

Advocating for continuity of focus on sustainability impact. As I travel this year with our 2025 Chair, Alison Hoagland, we are both committed to continued advocacy on behalf of our mission and vision. It has never been more important to discuss resilience, efficiency, and human wellness and their close connection to the built environment, where we spend more than 90% of our days. With every conversation, we aim to reinforce that billions of people are relying on our diligence today to protect them as they live, work, heal, and learn within our global built environment tomorrow.

Vicki Worden
CEO

GBI’s 20th anniversary was its highest impact year with 598 buildings assessed, adding to an all-time assessment total that is approaching one billion square feet.

It was an honor to serve as Chair Elect during GBI’s 20th year and celebrate along with 2024 Board Chair Tim Thiel, the Board, and the staff the many accomplishments of this impactful initiative that started in 2004.

Mission: To improve the built environment’s impact on climate
and society.

Vision: Sustainable, healthy, and resilient buildings for all.