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Letter from Tom Hicks,
USGBC Vice President of LEED
Dear USGBC
members,
I would like to share with you some exciting
developments regarding the LEED rating system. As the
number of LEED certified and registered buildings climbs
towards 8000, the market has provided us with information,
ideas and feedback on the LEED process. As part of
USGBC’s dedication to the continually evolving LEED, I am
pleased to update you on four initiatives that are currently
underway at the Council. These initiatives will help us
make LEED more flexible and adaptive while also maintaining
its technical rigor. The four initiatives that are
currently underway include:
Harmonizing and Aligning LEED
Rating System
Integrated Committee Structure
Technical Development
Regular
Update Cycle for LEED
LEED will always strive to inspire our market
leaders to innovation and deliver the immediate and measurable
results they need. And with these four initiatives in
place, we will be that much closer to realizing our goal of a
sustainable built environment within a generation.
Sincerely,
Tom Hicks
Vice President, LEED, U.S. Green
Building Council
More green building
news:
USGBC
Community:
-
USGBC Makes $1 Million Commitment to Support Green Building
Research
- Nominations
Sought for USGBC Board of Directors
LEED
Updates:
- Energy
Credits and LEED Projects
- LEED for Homes - Public Comment Open
-
LEED for Retail - New Construction: Public Comment Period
Open
- USGBC Developing Indoor Air
Quality Design Guide
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Harmonizing and Aligning
LEED
As the LEED rating system has evolved to
address all buildings types, drift in the various rating
system credits has occurred. By harmonizing and aligning
the credits and core elements of all the rating systems - into
one elegant rating system, it will create a single “LEED
bookshelf,” making the system more adaptive and flexible, but
allowing for additional credits that may be necessary to cover
all building types.
A new technical framework on the “back-end”
of LEED will technically integrate the core elements of all
the rating systems, reduce duplication and “credit drift” that
has occurred between versions over time, and make the
information needed for certification more accessible to the
users.
Integrated Committee Structure
A more integrated committee structure will
drive integration of core rating systems elements, allow for
special category needs to be addressed in harmony with the
core elements of LEED, and reduce duplication of support
needed. A revised committee structure will focus on three
aspects: Technical, Market and Certification - rather than
focusing on specific LEED Rating Systems. Additionally, each
committee will be supporter by numerous working groups that
will take on tasks that will drive the committees' work
forward.
LEED has a long history of inclusion and
collaboration. It took more than 600,000 volunteer hours from
some of the best minds in the industry to launch LEED and it’s
the dedicated involvement of these volunteers through our
committee structure that will ensure LEED’s evolution is on
target. How committees will be constituted and function
is still under development with details forthcoming later this
summer.
Technical
Development
Technical development work within LEED will
incorporate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), add regionally based
credits, and reconfigure credit organization by environmental
impacts in order to respond to specific high priority
performance concerns, such as carbon dioxide emissions and
climate change.
Regular
Update Cycle for LEED
A standardized development schedule for the
LEED rating system will provide the community with development
and activity timelines, allowing users and USGBC members to
more actively engage in LEED’s growth and development. The
update cycle will give the ongoing development of LEED a
framework in which to respond to marketplace needs, while
maintaining both the creativity and the technical rigor that
are the hallmarks of LEED.
The update cycle for LEED is envisioned to
utilize USGBC’s volunteer member committees and working groups
to identify the new issues, ideas, and technologies that
should be incorporated into LEED. USGBC will communicate the
proposed updates, with planning and the development of new
and/or revised credits following. All proposed updates will
then go through USGBC’s established consensus process, with
opportunities for public review and comment before being put
forward for member ballot.
Throughout the cycle, new ideas and
scientific advances can be introduced and tested by individual
project teams via Innovation in Design (ID) credits or
alternative compliance paths. In this way, building owners and
project teams will also help inform the LEED Steering
Committee about ideas and advancements that should be
integrated into the rating system during the next round of
updates.
LEED’s new development timetable will drive
consistent improvement and continuity, eliminating the need
for protracted whole-version updates of individual rating
systems and software-like “versions.”
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USGBC Community
USGBC makes $1 Million
Commitment to Support Green Building Research
These funds will be targeted at increasing
research in areas such as energy and water security; global
climate change prevention; indoor environmental quality; and
passive survivability in the face of natural and man-made
disasters. Catalyzing and disseminating fundamental and
applied research is part of USGBC's leadership role in the
green building community. Read
more.
Nominations Sought for USGBC Board of
Directors
Nominations for the 2008 USGBC Board of
Directors will open on July 2, 2007. This is an opportunity
for members to help shape USGBC’s future.
The call for nominations and a list of open
seats will be posted on the USGBC website on July 2, 2007.
After the nominations period closes on August 2, the
Nominating Subcommittee of the Governance Committee will
propose a slate of candidates. Voting will occur in
September. Check the USGBC
website starting on July 2 for details.
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LEED
Updates
Energy Credits and LEED
Projects
All LEED projects are now required to achieve
at least 2 Optimize Energy Performance points. This
requirement is mandatory for all LEED projects registering
after June 26, 2007. The goal of the points is to
immediately increase LEED's impact in reducing building energy
related greenhouse gas emissions.
To help projects achieve this new mandate, a
prescriptive path is in development for all LEED for New
Construction, LEED for Core and Shell, LEED for Schools and
LEED for Retail projects. When complete, this
prescriptive path will be outlined in the appropriate rating
system documents available
here.
LEED for Homes Opens for
Public Comment
The LEED for Homes pilot rating system has
been in pilot phase for over a year and a half. After
project feedback, internal review, and approval by LEED
Technical Advisory Committees, the rating system is now open
for public comment. The public comment deadline is
Saturday, July 14, 2007. Please visit
the public comment page for more information and to
participate, or contact leedinfo@usgbc.org with
any questions. We appreciate your feedback.
LEED for Retail - New
Construction: Public Comment Period Open
Want to weigh in on the LEED for Retail rating system? The public is invited to comment on the draft LEED for Retail – New
Construction rating system, which has recently completed pilot
testing. LEED for Retail was developed to meet the unique needs of retail design and construction
projects, including lighting,
sites, security, energy and water concerns. Public comment
will conclude on Wednesday, June 27, 2007. Visit the public
comment page for more information and to participate, or
learn
more about LEED for
Retail.
USGBC Developing IAQ Design Guide to
Help Building's Achieve Improved Indoor Air Quality
USGBC is collaborating with ASHRAE, AIA,
BOMA, U.S. EPA, and SMACNA to develop a design guide which
will address indoor air quality (IAQ). The guide will describe
an integrated process for achieving improved IAQ in all
elements of a building. Upon its completion, these tools will
function as a prescriptive compliance path for IAQ. The design
guide will consist of a textbook and a professional
development course, which will be designed for the building
and design community. Visit
our web site to learn more.
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