October 18, 2006—In a major boost to the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) system for rating the environmental performance of buildings, the General Services Administration (GSA) which operates as the federal government’s landlord has issued a report that found the council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system to be the most credible among five systems evaluated.
That conclusion will likely have a major impact on the growing green building market because the federal government is one of the largest owners and operators of commercial buildings, so the government’s endorsement of a particular ranking system could establish a de facto standard for the industry, says USGBC.
The report — submitted to Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO), who is chairman of an appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over GSA’s budget — notes that the federal government is a “significant participant in the building industry” and that it is critical for the GSA to “evaluate the performance of projects.” The report was requested by the fiscal year 2006 appropriations act.
In evaluating the five green building systems, the criteria were drawn from GSA “drivers for sustainable design,” including a memorandum of understanding dated January 2006 on “federal leadership in high performance and sustainable buildings,” according to the report. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, and Executive Order 13123, “greening the government through efficient energy management,” were among other federal drivers that helped define the criteria for assessing green building rating systems.
At the time the report was written earlier this year, more than 400 US buildings had received LEED ratings — which run from “certified” through silver, gold, and platinum — and more than 3,400 buildings were registered “and therefore potentially seeking certification” as green buildings, according to GSA.
For more information, see the Web site of the US Green Building Council.
