Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which awards points to buildings that satisfy environmentally responsible criteria. The USGBC is a nonprofit organization that was created in 1993 to promote sustainable building. The Council has grown to include more that 14,500 member organizations and companies. Since the first rating system was put into effect in 1998, LEED has expanded to review six environmental categories, which include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design. The rating systems have come to be recognized as the international benchmark for green building and development. Projects that are eligible for LEED certification include new construction, commercial interiors, core and shell developments, as well as existing buildings, homes, schools, retail facilities, and healthcare facilities.

LEED serves as a guide for the design, construction, and operations of environmentally sustainable buildings. Verified projects receive a LEED plaque demonstrating that the building has been certified by the USGBC. To earn LEED certification, a building must meet a set of prerequisites. The project then earns points by using sustainable strategies and documenting the building's environmental performance. Buildings are rated as Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.

DEVELOPMENT

LEED rating systems are developed by volunteer committees made up of people from the building industry in cooperation with technical advisory groups. The consensus process involves stakeholder comment and review, and a member ballot. Finally, the rating system is open to the appeals process.

As of 2008, LEED professional accreditation has been granted to 43,000 building professionals since the program's inception in 2001. These individuals display extensive knowledge of green building practices and the LEED rating systems. In 2008, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) was created to administer this program.

BENEFITS

In 2008, two studies by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and the CoStar Group found that LEED-certified buildings outperform non-LEED-certified buildings in terms of energy use, occupancy rates, sale value, and rental rates. According to the NBI, LEED-certified buildings use 25 to 30 percent less energy than non-certified buildings. Gold and Platinum LEED-certified buildings have average energy savings of some 50 percent. Additionally, incentives for buildings to be certified by LEED are granted at state and local levels.

Since there are obvious advantages to owning an energy-efficient household, many would assume that most new construction would be “green” building. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case. The problem stems from the fact that many developers, while realizing the benefits of LEED designs, are reluctant to increase the initial cost of the house in order to build in this manner. To put it another way, the developer does not reap any of the benefits of the energy-efficient construction, and since putting in these

types of devices often increases the cost, there is the danger of building a green home that is more expensive than the regular home and therefore does not sell.

OVERCOMING RELUCTANCE FOR GREEN BUILDING

There are two major ways in which this obstacle to LEED-designed construction can be overcome. One is through better marketing; many people would be excited about lower monthly energy costs (especially in the late 2000s, as these costs move ever upward), and so they could be convinced to pay more upfront for a house that was energy efficient with the understanding that over time, their initial monetary outlay would be recouped via lower bills.

A second way to overcome higher initial prices for green construction is through legislation, particularly that of a local nature. For example, a city council has an interest in having energy-efficient houses within its domain, for such energy-saving units should allow the city's utilities (electricity, water) to manage growth and demand for these services better. In other words, a huge increase in new housing would typically mean a proportional increase would be needed for gas, electricity, and other utilities, but if the new housing is energy-efficient, this spike in utility demand is mitigated. To achieve this, then, local governments can modify local building codes to offer rebates to developers on various forms of green building, thereby encouraging more new construction be LEED certified.