The Green Guide, a voluntary self-certifying system, is the product of a two-year, multi-stakeholder development and review process, convened by the Austin, Texas-based Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems. Sponsors include the New York State Energy and Research Authority, Merck Family Fund, and Hospitals for Healthy Environment (H2E), a joint project of American Hospital Association, American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Major health care facilities, including Kaiser Permanente, the largest nonprofit health plan in the U.S., have agreed to pilot test the Green Guide over the next year.
The Green Guide's organizational structure has been borrowed by agreement from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® rating system, modifying and adding to it to meet the needs and priorities of the health care industry. The Guide, however, is not a LEED® Rating System nor a product of the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Green Guide, in addition to being custom fit for health care facilities, explicitly addresses the health issues associated with every credit, from site selection to building materials. For instance, the Green Guide offers credits for the elimination of persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals (PBTs), such as mercury and dioxin, from building materials. Other credits reward energy performance within the rigorous regulatory structure of healthcare facility operations.
Design and facility management teams in any stage of design, construction or operations are invited to register their projects and participate in the pilot program.
