Will LEED Remain The Leader?
This past week LEED certification and the USGBC were dealt a harsh blow by the New York Times. The New York Times shed light on a fact already widely known within the green building community...some green buildings are not living up to their expectations! LEED certification which originated in 1998 is currently in its third version with each version building on the last and focusing more on actual performance. There was a recent uproar over the new version of LEED, version 3.0 and its Minimum Project Requirements or MPRs and annual reporting of water and energy use. Perhaps the next version of LEED will move beyond MPRs and require minimum PERFORMANCE results.
In their followup article the New York Times addressed what LEED is seeking to do in order to beef up its credentials. I found the article to be very interesting and to raise a great point which many individuals tend to forget, LEED is not meant to be the end point of sustainable design and construction but rather a useful starting point and a means of demonstrating comittment to sustainability.
“LEED is a starting place, a reference point,” said Jim Tinson, the chief executive of Hart Howerton, an architectural and design firm in New York and San Francisco. “But it’s not what we’re all about because it can be very limiting.”
Despite LEED's current place as the preeminent green building certification I question whether it will remain the leader. With the current development of several green building codes the LEED system will be challenged to retain its currently popularity. What do you think? Is LEED going to remain a leader or be gradually phased out by green building codes and performance based certifications moving into the future?
Image: Startswithabang
