by Brianna Crandall — October 26, 2012—A new set of Global Alternative Compliance Paths, or Global ACPs, is now available for all commercial projects pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) using the 2009 versions of the rating systems. Global ACPs offer a flexible method for projects around the world to demonstrate compliance with the LEED credits that are traditionally more challenging for projects outside of the United States while holding them to the same level of excellence expected among LEED projects worldwide.
The use of LEED outside the United States continues to grow rapidly, says the USGBC. Projects outside the United States that are currently pursuing LEED certification reportedly make up over 50 percent of all floor area of all registrations. One of the most widely recognized and used green building programs in the world, LEED is certifying 186,000 square meters of commercial building space each day, comprising more than 49,100 LEED-certified and registered projects in 135 countries, adds the USGBC.
With a growing stock of existing buildings throughout Europe, members of the LEED International Roundtable including Finland, France, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, led by Green Building Council Italia, are working to address the growing needs of this sector in their area by developing LEED credit options that address geographic and regional issues. These specific Regional Alternative Compliance Paths are being developed for projects in Europe pursuing the 2009 version of LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. This global approach to technical development of the rating system is just a beginning, notes the USGBC.
Additionally, new Regional Priority Credits have been released for projects using the 2009 versions of LEED for New Construction for use in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Turkey. Regional Priority Credits are not new LEED credits, but instead are existing credits that are designated as being particularly important for various regional issues. If project teams achieve a Regional Priority Credit, they receive a bonus point in addition to their project’s total points. The additional LEED points available encourage projects to pursue credits that address unique regional environmental priorities. Regional Priority Credits will be expanded to additional countries and rating systems in the future, says the USGBC.
The LEED International Roundtable is an advisory group of green building councils and nonprofits representing 21 countries (soon to be 28 countries) working to strengthen LEED’s international focus to make the rating system more effective globally.
