Hold onto your hats folks, the LEED you know and love (or heck, hate) is growing up.

If you’ve worked with LEED before (like the people that worked on the LEED gold Hearst Tower in Manhattan at right), you know what it looks like. You get equally weighed points for energy efficient design, renewable energy use, construction waste management and low emitting materials to name a few areas, though there are certain points you have to get. A project gets to be LEED platinum by getting between 52 and 69 points for new construction, and only 26 to 32 points for LEED certified.

Well, on Tuesday, the USGBC announced it opened its public comment period on LEED 2009, part of LEED 3.0…. and it basically looks nothing like what you know LEED to be.

Ok, so that might be an exaggeration. You still have different categories; you still get credits for many of the same points. But it’s a whole different world out there, champ, because points are weighted towards the most pressing issues of the day, you can get points for regional issues (you say water is extra important in Arizona, do you Phoenix?) and when LEED gets updated, all versions get updated. This version also begins to take lifecycle analysis into account and gives more points for things that lower carbon emissions - like buildings sited in a city next to public transit versus out in a green field in the middle of nowhere. Yowza, the times they are a changin’.

To learn more about the individual changes, read my story coming out tomorrow in the DJC (which goes much more in depth about what actually is changing), or check out the multitude of online material the USGBC has provided available here. If you’ve ever complained about the way LEED works, now is the time to have your say as USGBC is accepting comments through June 22. To comment, click the link above and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Why do it now? In their online materials, USGBC says the point is to strike a balance between market uptake and technical advancement. In other words, they wanted to create a forum that was better suited to pull people on board that had never built a LEED project, but also serve those of you out there that think LEED silver is kid stuff. Does this sound like enough or does it still not get “the point?”

USGBC says the “weighted” points are the biggest change. The online materials basically say USGBC created so many different versions of LEED, that some rating systems captured certain market advances and others missed out. So to make it easier both on the USGBC and you, the USGBC has consolidated, aligned and updated all existing LEED rating systems into one “common denominator.” (At right is Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and the LEED platinum plaque for Pryde + Johnson’s Greenlake Ashworth Cottages.

USGBC is also clear to point out this is not a “tear down and rebuild” of the LEED that exists (which actually makes me question whether it is or not, but maybe that’s just me… ?).

So there’s my information, what about yours? When you compare this version of LEED, with the Living Building Challenge, the two go in very different directions. Do you prefer one or the other? Why?

And P.S., the USGBC wants this version to launch in January 2009. Less than a year away…..

Tags: LEED, Living Future, New York, Overview, Phoenix, USGBC

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 3:38 pm and is filed under LEED, Living Building, Overview, USGBC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.