In a move to address widespread criticism of their two-year old effort to develop a green building standard for commercial buildings, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and their partners, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, have disbanded the original Standard 189.1 project committee. ASHRAE is currently reconstituting the committee with members representing a more diversified set of interests to restart the development of the standard. This move also follows the comments by BOMA and dozens of other groups on drafts of the Standard 189.1 that called for ASHRAE to reconstitute the project committee to include those representing the most materially and directly impacted groups.

BOMA has expressed its appreciation for this decisive action directly to the ASHRAE leadership and has submitted its application for membership on the new committee. ASHRAE Immediate Past President Kent Peterson will be the new Chairman of the 189.1 Project Committee. According to Chairman Peterson, the new committee will review the work of the previous committee and then issue another public review draft for comment. BOMA estimates the project could produce a final standard as early as late 2009.