The New LEED in an Evolving Market

By Ashley Katz, U.S. Green Building Council

Since its inception in 2000, the LEED green building rating system has been helping revolutionize the way our buildings are designed, constructed and operated. Like any useful tool, LEED needs to be continuously improved and updated with the latest information, technologies and processes. LEED 2009 — the long-awaited update to LEED, launched on April 27, 2009, and brought with it major technical advancements.

The facility management community is already looking to see how this improved process will advance the needs of the industry. LEED 2009 will update all of the rating systems that address commercial and institutional buildings, including LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, the system the facility management community uses most frequently. And while the majority of the individual LEED credits will be very familiar, LEED 2009 includes some important changes.

All of the prerequisites and credits within LEED have undergone an alignment and harmonization, providing a pool of prerequisites and credits for all LEED rating systems, improving the experience of using LEED for various building types including commercial offices. And instead of five different credits seeking the same goal across five rating systems, there is now one credit that can be applied to five rating systems.

Every credit in LEED is developed with a specific intent in mind, and LEED 2009 improves and expands upon this idea by reweighing the each individual credit based on a 100-point scale and transparent set of priorities. This scientifically grounded re-weighting exercise will more accurately reflect a credit point impact on the environment, with reducing CO2 emissions and improving energy efficiency being the primary goal. This flexible infrastructure helps ensure that LEED certification balances financial considerations and the ability of the market to deliver investment-grade improvements.

LEED 2009 also delivers on the promise of creating regionally specific credits. Project teams are able to select LEED Innovation & Design style bonus points that address regional priorities from a list of eligible credits. Priority credits encourage project teams to focus on strategies that are of most importance locally and were driven by USGBC’s chapter network, regional councils, and the LEED Steering Committee.

If projects are registered under the current LEED rating system, they will have the option to upgrade to LEED 2009 or they can continue to use the version of LEED under which they registered. Starting on June 27, 2009, all newly registered projects will be required to use LEED v3.

All of the changes to LEED 2009 will be reflected in all LEED-related programs — including USGBC educational offerings, reference and study guides and the LEED AP Exam. USGBC has rolled out new education programs, offered at all learning levels, to support the latest version of LEED. These offerings include instructor-led workshops, online-anytime courses, and webinars (live and on-demand) that also support the pursuit and maintenance of each of the Green Building Certification Institute’s (GBCI) new LEED credentials, which were launched in coordination with the new credentials. Offerings through USGBC’s Education Provider Program, which reviews high-quality green building education developed by USGBC’s members and chapters, provides additional opportunities to address credential maintenance. For a complete course catalogue and to learn more, visit www.greenbuild365.org.

To learn more about LEED 2009, visit www.usgbc.org/leed2009.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Green Building Council http://www.usgbc.org is the nation’s leading coalition for the advancement of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Established in 1993, the Council offers various products and services to include the LEED Green Building Rating System, an annual International Green Building Conference and Exposition, membership summits, information exchange, education, and policy advocacy.

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