Bureau Veritas and Green Business Certification Inc. Sign Agreement for LEED Certification

Bureau Veritas teams around the world will review LEED projects for conformity with GBCI standards for certification

Green Business Certification Inc.

In a recent signing ceremony, Bureau Veritas, a leading conformity assessment service provider in the Building & Infrastructure industry, and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), the certification body for the U.S. Green Building Council´s LEED green building program, finalized the terms of their exclusive global agreement to facilitate LEED certification internationally. LEED is the leading program for the certification of design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings, with more than 1.8 million square feet of commercial building space certified daily. There are currently more than 69,000 LEED building projects located in over 150 countries and territories, with approximately 44% of all square footage outside the U.S.

As part of the agreement, Bureau Veritas teams around the world will review LEED projects for conformity with GBCI´s strict standards for certification. Immediate plans for local LEED review teams have been drawn up for China, Brazil and India, where Bureau Veritas employs a total of approximately 21,000 staff. Local review teams will allow enhanced customer engagement and local support for LEED while advancing the goal for future site verification as part of the LEED certification process.

"Our objective is a seamless customer experience for LEED users and project teams," said Gerard Biessy, Vice-President of Building & Infrastructures at Bureau Veritas. "We are investing considerable resources into our local capacity building and the integration of GBCI processes."

"GBCI and Bureau Veritas will be able to offer local touch points, local reviews, possible on site verifications and other resources for green building teams on the ground," said Mahesh Ramanujam, chief operating officer, USGBC, and president, GBCI. "Through this collaboration, we will be able to connect with our customers and deepen our engagement with them, which will help accelerate the adoption of green building practices and deliver its benefits to these key economies."

The first buildings to be certified by Bureau Veritas within this partnership are due to be delivered in late 2015.

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