PORTLAND, OR – Green Building Initiative (GBI) President Jerry Yudelson will be speaking at The Gulf Coast Green Symposium and Expo (GCG), the leading green building conference for the Gulf Coast region, going on today and tomorrow at Monarch School and Houston Community College in Houston, TX.

Titled “Why do we need another green building rating system?” Yudelson will ask participants for a two-way dialogue about current rating systems on the market and what Green Globes offers to the industry to add to the sustainability conversation among architects and building owners.

“When you look at actual results,” said GBI President Jerry Yudelson. “There is an entire world of buildings out there that isn’t using any green building rating system at all to guide project design and building operational decisions. We desperately need more cost-effective rating systems that have technical rigor, but which are less expensive and more intuitive to users, if we want to gain widespread adoption of these sustainability practices."

After 10 successful years, Gulf Coast Green Symposium and Expo has proven to be the leading green building conference in the Gulf Coast region. This year the symposium will include activities over two days. Green Building Initiative will also be exhibiting in the Green Product Showcase featuring hand-selected green building products will be open to all attendees concurrently with the symposium. The GCG Green Product Showcase is one of the first and only Expo in the region to require participants to meet quantifiable sustainability standards.

About the Green Building Initiative™ - The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards Developer dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices. Founded in 2004, the organization is the sole U.S. provider of the Green Globes® and federal Guiding Principles Compliance building certification programs. To learn more about opportunities to become involved in the GBI, contact Jerry Yudelson or visit The GBI website, www.thegbi.org.