The ABCs of Green

LEED on way to becoming preferred designation

By Candy McCampbell

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is on its way to becoming the preferred green designation with the federal government’s mandate that new buildings be LEED certified.

The USGBC’s building-certifi cation system covers a range of construction, from new to rehab to schools to health-care. Pictured is the 29-story Hess Tower, which is the fi rst LEED Gold building in Houston’s Central Business District.

The U.S. Green Building Council, which started the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program in 1998, is the best known of the organizations that promote sustainable efforts.

LEED is on its way to becoming the preferred green designation with the federal government’s mandate that new buildings be LEED certified.

“LEED is becoming more of an industry standard than some obscure movement out there,” says John Harchelroad, contract manager in the health-care division of Hoar Construction LLC in Birmingham.

Harchelroad is one of the industry professionals who have achieved the LEED Accredited Professional designation that has gone to 40,000 individuals since its start in 2001.

The USGBC’s building-certification system covers a range of construction, from new to rehab to schools to the  health-care specifications due to be released this fall.

LEED certification – and its ratings from certified to platinum – is based on a third-party review of a project’s design construction and performance in energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials and resource use, sustainable site development and indoor air quality.

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools, a San Francisco-based nonprofi t, took the LEED model for new construction in 2001 and adapted it to apply to all schools.

Some critics call LEED too expensive because the third-party entity has to verify that plans, waste, systems and the like meet the USGBC’s exacting standards, and because some of the platforms that must be met may not generate a return on the investment until later than owners want.

Some building owners follow the LEED specs but do not register their projects or seek certification.

Government-owned or government-occupied buildings made up more than one-fourth of all LEED projects at the end of the first quarter of this year. That’s 138 certified federal projects and 1,236 seeking certification; 216 certified state projects and 1,527 looking to certification; and 344 certified local projects and 2,310 seeking certification, according to the USGBC.

The nonprofit USGBC has also teamed with a wide range of other organizations wanting to build green, including the Clinton Climate Initiative and its Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, Building Owners and Managers Association International.

Global Green, the U.S. branch of Green Cross International, promotes green buildings and green cities as part of its effort to halt global climate change. It follows the LEED outline for building.

The National Green Building Standards, a voluntary self-verification program, was developed by the American National Standards Institute and the National Association of Home Builders. It also has multilevel ratings.

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The Collaborative for High Performance Schools, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, took the LEED model for new construction in 2001 and adapted it to apply to all schools, especially those in California, where energy efficiency and water conservation are critical. CHPS schools have been built in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington and are under construction in New York and Rhode Island.

CHPS has since participated in development of the LEED for Schools rating but continues working with professionals to develop state-by-state guidelines. It released the benchmark for Texas earlier this year.

Both the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Associated General Contractors have endorsed the green building approach and have formed advisory groups for members, added green Web sites and tied in with other organizations to provide information to members.

Commercial builders can also tie in to the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes online self-assessment to measure their own green progress.

The University of Minnesota has a Center for Sustainable Building Research, and other colleges and universities are involved in similar activities.

The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, which got its start as the Passive Solar Industries Council, offers a clearinghouse of sustainable building information and the Whole Building Design Guide.

Other sustainable or energy-conscious building programs are part of the federal government, including the Energy Star of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Even states are getting more organized about green building. In California, there is the Building Standards Commission as well as a statewide building code that is voluntary until 2010, when it becomes mandatory.

The code calls for a 50% increase in landscape water conservation and a 15% increase in energy efficiency. It applies to residential and commercial; public and private construction; and all schools, hospitals and other public institutions.