Green building practices have moved from a niche market with only the early adopters incorporating sustainability and high performance into their designs to now where these concepts are more in the mainstream practice. This applies to both developed and developing countries; however, there are different challenges for implementing green or high performance buildings in developing economies. One issue faced regardless of where the building project is located is in the definition of exactly what a "high performance" building is; this can be interpreted differently depending on the perspective of the stakeholder in that building project. In addition, there are different paths for which high performance; efficient building practices can be put forth. These range from purely voluntary certification programs to those that are made mandatory by incorporation into local or national building codes and ordinances. This paper provides a summary overview of the different possible mechanisms for adopting high performance into building projects and includes a topic by topic study of how programs in developed countries, such as ASHRAE's Standard 189.1, might be modified and adopted for use within developing economies.