by Brianna Crandall — June 8, 2012—In response to concerns raised by members, core LEED users and stakeholders, and in an effort to provide the marketplace a view of the full LEED program experience prior to ballot, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced on June 4 that it will delay ballot on its updated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2012 green building certification program until June 1, 2013 (or potentially earlier in 2013 if USGBC members and the market indicate readiness for ballot). Because of this date change, LEED 2012 is being renamed LEED v4.
“LEED pushes the envelope to bring transformation to the market—that’s what we do,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President, LEED. “We remain committed to that, and to making sure that what we deliver is complete and can be successfully implemented.”
In addition to the ballot date change, other actions include:
- Keeping LEED 2009 open for registration for three years;
- Continuing to ask for the market’s assistance in “test driving” LEED v4 to gain important insight during a time when improvements in usability infrastructure can be made; and
- Committing to a fifth public comment period that will open on October 2, 2012, and run through December 10, 2012 to take advantage of the Greenbuild conference, where USGBC will hold public forums and educational sessions on site in San Francisco. The USGBC says this will help stakeholders better understand requirements as well as any final changes that may appear in the new draft. Greenbuild will also serve as a platform to debut new forms, submittal documents, and LEED Online enhancements that will help improve and enhance the user experience
- Continuing to ask for the market’s assistance in “test driving” LEED v4 to gain important insight during a time when improvements in usability infrastructure can be made; and
USGBC President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi commented, “This is 100% in response to our members’ desire that we give them a bit more time to absorb the changes in this next version of the rating system. We want to do everything we can to ensure that the market can fully embrace LEED v4, because it represents significant progress on carbon reduction and human health. Greenbuild will provide us the perfect venue to experience the look and feel of the new system as an integrated package. Then we can take the first part of 2013 to make sure the consensus body has everything it needs for a successful ballot.”
The U.S. Green Building Council’s widely used LEED certification system covers the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings. Nearly 47,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising 9.5 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 120 countries.
