It’s a triumphant week for USGBC and the entire green building movement.
Three months after the General Services Administration (GSA) sought public input on
LEED takes the lead once again for all GSA buildings in the U.S.
which green building system would best suit federal buildings, the verdict is out, recommended by no less than the Green Building Advisory Committee. LEED is now officially the preferred green building standard for all GSA buildings across the United States. According to USGBC’s own press release which came out May 3:
“The committee […] conveyed that LEED should be the primary way to show how agency buildings use energy and water and that LEED standards are the most conducive to meet the Energy Independence and Security Act.”
GSA and LEED
GSA has always favored LEED as its green building certification system as far back as 2003. The results have been dramatic: energy use was reduced by almost 20 percent since 2003, while almost 15 percent for water use since 2007. In October last year, GSA upped the minimum requirement for all its federal buildings to LEED Gold certification from LEED Silver, proof that GSA takes seriously its commitment to sustainability and energy conservation.
But even as GSA has shown support for LEED, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for USGBC’s green building standard. Special-interest groups, particularly from the crucial industries of plastics, fossil fuels, and lumber, have united to overthrow LEED’s “monopoly”, arguing that “GSA should recommend the use of more than one rating system.” The concerned groups are, of course, only after their market share, which they fear would be compromised as the new and upcoming version of LEED discourages use of certain chemicals, fossil fuel dependency, and lumber source.
The flak escalated even further when a few politicians entered the scene, wielding their political powers regarding which green building rating system should be adopted by their respective states.
Green Building Reaffirmed
With this new announcement, GSA’s belief in the efficacy and transparency of LEED is once more reaffirmed. Previously, it came down to three choices for green building systems: LEED, Green Globes, and the Living Building Challenge, which GSA put into a public comment.
According to Federal News Radio, GSA received 400+ comments from 162 stakeholders from the building and academic industries, as well as local federal and local government agencies. Among the 160 tools and standards studied and considered by GSA, only three of them addressed the entire building system, but LEED emerged as the most effective out of those three.
LEED, of course, is not the end-all, be-all in green building. As both LEED and the construction industry evolves, new groups with new grievances will arise, protesting the new changes in LEED in the years to follow. But for now, the good news is that LEED is once again back on track.
