Green Building Initiative Announces New Appointments to Board

PORTLAND, Ore., June 24, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Green Building Initiative (GBI) today announced the appointment of Glumac consulting engineers' CEO Steve Straus and Plum Creek (NYSE:PCL) director of real estate Doug Cole to its board of directors, according to GBI president Jerry Yudelson.

"These seasoned professionals bring to our board real-world credentials in sustainable building, commercial real estate and responsible business practices," Yudelson said. "And they add broad-based experience and perspective in helping guide our growing organization."

As president of Glumac, a leading building services (MEP) engineering and commissioning firm, with 10 West Coast offices plus a strong presence in Shanghai, China, Straus heads a firm where all principals and associate principals are focused on making a real impact on conserving natural resources, for projects big and small, with the mission of creating sustainable buildings. Straus has more than 30 years of professional engineering experience almost entirely with Glumac. He is a leader in sustainable design and innovative technologies with a focus on the evaluation of systems alternatives and integration of design with other disciplines.

"For me this is an enormous honor to be elected to GBI's board," Straus said. "For the last 30 years, I have dedicated my career to energy efficiency and sustainable design, and our firm's focus is 'Green Buildings That Work.' Clients should be given a variety of options to choose from, and the Green Globes Program is ideally suited for many projects. My agenda is to move the standards toward "performance-based" ratings, and GBI provides that option."

Cole, a registered architect, joined Plum Creek in 2004 to identify and execute alternative outcomes across Plum Creek's highest value land holdings. In his current position he oversees a variety of strategic company initiatives related to acquisitions, joint ventures, and special projects across the company's business units and land holdings. Prior to joining Plum Creek he spent more than twenty years in private architectural practice specializing in land and development master planning.

"I believe in GBI's mission and relate to its efforts to bring sustainability certifications to a wider audience of regular practitioners in the building trades," Cole said. "As a registered architect, the organization allows me to directly participate and remain current in industry applications and trends related to sustainability and the built environment."

About the Green Building Initiative™ - The GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited 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 the GBI, visit the GBI website, www.thegbi.org.