There's a new green building standard in town, and it has its sights set on more than just certification. BREEAM USA, a joint venture between the global BRE Group and consultant firm BuildingWise, launched this summer with the goal of gathering data on the 5.6 million existing buildings in the U.S. to share knowledge and improve efficiencies.

Barry Giles, CEO of BREEAM USA, is a veteran of the green building movement and helped write the LEED for Existing Buildings standard with the U.S. Green Building Council. Now, he and his California-based firm BuildingWise are bringing the BREEAM standard — launched in Europe in 1990 and since expanded to 77 countries — to the U.S. to target the need for additional benchmarking for existing buildings.

Giles emphasized that the new standard, which has already seen strong demand from the U.S. building industry, is not seeking to compete with the popular LEED program, but rather is aiming to offer another option in the quest for more sustainable structures.

Our sister site Construction Dive spoke with Giles during the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo last week in Los Angeles about the new BREEAM USA standard and the goal of collecting and sharing valuable data in an industry that struggles to break down barriers and exchange new ideas. Click here to read full interview >>>