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If LEED is a buffet (yes, I’m also a LEED Accredited Professional), who’s paying for the grub, are the servings too generous, and what’s it’s nutritional value?

Recent articles point to the need for transformation for LEED, the juggernaut that has brought contractors, developers, and even governments into the fold along with architects, engineers, and planners in record numbers to certify buildings to standards many argue are too easy to attain.

The focus of LEED does not appear to be first and formost high-performance and energy-efficiency which is verified post-construction.
A 25-30% energy savings under LEED may seem an improvement over baseline building performance, but doesn’t hold up to other, more stringent standards which are gaining increasing ground in North America, such as federal Energy Star for homes, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), Green Globes, and the Architecture 2030 Challenge, spearheaded by passive solar master architect Ed Mazria.

In some cases, rather than concentrating on tight, energy-efficient building envelopes, many large, high-profile projects which chase LEED designation tend to focus on so-called “green bling.”
In the words of Transsolar’s David White:
“Unfortunately, the exuberant, creative stuff - the expensive buzz words such as ‘geothermal’, ‘photovoltaic’, ‘double facade’, and ‘absorption chiller’ - only makes sense when the basic requirements, such as a well-insulated, airtight facade with good solar control, are satisfied.”

LEED is certainly popular and pervasive, but can we do better?
A building poorly designed will affect its occupants for the life of the building, and if designed to less than the most stringent energy standards, will also affect the environment immeasurably for years to come.

Please do your homework and consider carefully to what standards your home or building will be built.

High-performance building standards

Energy Star
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
Architecture 2030 initiative
Green Globes
BREEAM

Learn more

Sustainable Ratings Systems, American Institute of Architects
Can LEED Survive the Carbon-Neutral Era?
The Green Standard?, Fast Company.com
LEED is Broken: Let’s Fix It, iGreenBuild.com

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