What is LEED?

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED as it is commonly called, was established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to develop a rating system for green building. It is the measure for design, construction and operation of green buildings. LEED advocates sustainability through a whole-building approach in 5 areas of performance in human and environmental health. Those 5 areas are:           
•    Energy efficiency
•    Sustainable site development
•    Water savings
•    Materials selection
•    Quality of indoor environment

The rating system is tailored to each project and coincides with LEED specific programs. A handful of these programs are New Construction, Existing Buildings, Commercial Interiors, Core and Shell, Homes, Neighborhood Development and Schools. The rating system fosters global endorsement of sustainable green building and improvement through the “creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.” The criterion is developed by leaders in their specific industry and ranked in 4 levels of certification; in ascending order those levels are: certified, silver, gold and platinum. These LEED certifications are directly related to the number of credits earned in each of the 5 performance categories listed above. Currently, the LEED standards are applicable to new commercial construction, major renovation, interior projects and existing structure operation. However, standards are being developed to include construction for commercial core and shell, neighborhood development and new homes.

The members of the USGBC recently approved a revision to the LEED rating system that will be effective in March. This update, known as LEED 2009, hopes to bring about more consistency within the family of LEED rating systems, more focus on energy and climate issues through the use of more scientific benchmarks and an evaluation of building technology. The point system for all LEED programs will consist of 100 points with a possible 10 point “bonus.” Previously the system was based on 64 points with a potential for 5 bonus points. A sliding scale was created to earn marks for optimizing energy efficiency, with a maximum of 19 points, as compared to the former maximum of 10 points. With changes like this you can see that the projects hoping to be LEED certified will need to have a much heavier focus on energy performance. Some of the other changes reflected in the LEED 2009 rating system are:

•    20% reduction in water-use is now mandatory for certification; previously you would have earned 1 point for water-use reduction.
•    The “Sustainable Sites” category will contribute to almost 24% of the maximum score, this is about 4% higher from the old rating system.
•    LEED 2009 offers bonus points to those that put an emphasis on their regional environmental goals (to be published in March).
•    The “Energy and Atmosphere” category now makes up nearly 32% of the total score; formerly it was approximately 25%.
•    Access to public transportation earns 6 points as opposed to 1 point prior to the revisions.

I would venture to believe that USGBC anticipates applicants to shine their spotlights on energy use and renewable energy sources – as that has been a driving force as of late.

Some of you reading this may already know that it’s not easy being green (thanks Kermit) and in order to obtain LEED certification you have to put yourself to the test through the USGBC’s certification process. The USGBC’s website has a multitude of information about the process, helpful documents and guides, a listing of professionals that are LEED accredited and schedules for LEED training workshops and conferences. The certification is performed by a third-party who will evaluate the building to ensure that it meets the highest standards of sustainability. If you’re uncertain as to whether or not your building has the potential to be LEED certified, take a moment to review the LEED checklist.

Going through this process has incredible rewards for not only for the environment but from a financial standpoint. When your building is LEED certified you qualify for special tax rebates, zoning allowances and benefits in hundreds of other cities. The federal economic stimulus package also provides  existing buildings the opportunity to take advantage of these benefits by properly retrofitting current equipment and structures. As you can see, LEED is the yardstick by which the green building industry is measured through its efforts to champion environmental friendliness and efficient use of energy. In my final installment of this series I’ll discuss how sustainable building should stay afloat amidst the economic downturn – yes some industries will thrive during this and I believe sustainability is just now gaining popularity. Until our next discussion, go green!