GREEN BUILDING INDEX

What is Green Building Index?

On 24 September 2012, 4 o'clock in the evening, we, all Interior Design student, had a talk about "Green Building Index" by Prof Madya Dr Sharifah Fairuz Syed Radzil. That was a short talk and very useful for us to understanding what and why about Green Building Index.


By GreenBuildingIndex,

The Green Building Index (GBI) is Malaysia's industry recognised green rating tool for buildings to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness among Developers, Architects, Engineers, Planners, Designers, Contractors and the Public about environment issues and their responsibility to the generations of future.

The GBI rating tool provides an opportunity for developers and building owners to design and construct green, sustainable buildings that can provide energy savings, a healthier indoor environment, better connectivity to the public transport and the adoption of recycling and greenery for their projects and reduce  impact on the environment.

GBI is developed specifically for the Malaysian-tropical climate, environment and developmental context, cultural and social needs and is created to:

• Define green buildings by establishing a common language and standard of measurement.
• Promote integrated, whole-building designs that provides a better environment for all.
• Recognise and reward environmental leadership.
• Transform the built environment to reduce its negative environmental impacts.
• Ensure new buildings remain relevant in the future and existing buildings are refurbished and upgraded to improve the overall quality of building stock.

GBI accreditation for buildings is separated into three tiers.

1. At the highest level is the GBI Accreditation Panel, the independent regulatory body for GBI accreditation.
2. At the intermediate level are the GBI Certifiers, consisting of experienced professionals that conduct the assessment and accreditation of project submissions.
3. On the front-end level are the GBI Facilitators, professionals who together with clients and design team to enhance their projects to meet or exceed GBI rating system requirements.

GBI is designed specifically for the tropical climate, for hot and humid, and Malaysia's current social, infrastructure and economic development. Singapore's GREENMARK is the other green rating tool developed for the tropics but it addresses specifically the priorities and needs of Singapore.