The non-profit Sustainable Performance Institute (SPI) has released version 3.0 of its Green Firm Certification criteria for public comment. Building industry professionals are invited to provide feedback on the proposed new criteria until midnight on October 11, 2013.
SPI Certification validates the capability of architects, engineers or construction companies to deliver consistent, high quality sustainability services and confirms that their marketing claims are true. It is used by owners and developers to differentiate the truly best teams -- those that have institutionalized sustainability in their culture, systems, processes and project delivery.
V3.0 constitutes a simplified and streamlined set of evaluation criteria covering a broad range of factors contributing to organizational sustainability, including: Vision, Planning & Implementation; Project Delivery; Infrastructure; Collaboration & Partnering; and Outcomes & Metrics. Like previous versions, it also uses surveys of internal staff and external clients and partners to identify strengths and weaknesses and provide the basis for continual improvement.
Barbra Batshalom, Executive Director of SPI, elaborated: "Last year, SPI's program was adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as SPI-HUD Green Organizational Accreditation, part of HUD's Affordable Green Initiative. In adapting the private sector criteria for HUD, we were able to streamline and simplify the program. Twenty-four (24) organizations have achieved accreditation under that new version, with almost all completing the documentation in less than four hours. We are now incorporating some of those changes into the private sector certification program."
