Over the last several months, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute have been forging new relationships as well as strengthening existing ties with other organizations. Those working on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and other green projects (such as Sustainable SITES) will be impacted by these developments.
The most impactful partnership that has been announced is one that will integrate LEED with green building codes. Currently, there is a standard for high-performance buildings (ASHRAE Standard 189.1) that is an approved alternative compliance path for the model green code, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). There also is the LEED rating system, which has long been used in place of standards or codes and has been mandated by several governmental entities. This is all expected to change due to a partnership announced in late August that will merge Standard 189.1 and the IgCC and then integrate the new ”189” with LEED. Eventually, meeting 189 would align a project with LEED prerequisites and streamline certification. Participating groups are the International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the USGBC. Read the USGBC press release here.
Also in August, the USGBC and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) unexpectedly announced an agreement to “work together to advance LEED.” The two groups had been at loggerheads since discussions started about changing the material credits in LEED to avoid “chemicals of concern.” (This occurred when LEEDv4 was in development.) The Aug. 27 announcement acknowledges how materials have helped bring about greater efficiencies in green buildings, then goes on to state the two groups agree to work within the LEED technical review structure to address issues with materials. Much about the new relationship is left undefined at the moment, but critics are already penning articles on the dangers of materials groups being allowed to contribute to LEED technical group discussions on materials science and their contributions to the building as a whole. Also unclear is how this development will impact ACC’s support of LEED competitor, GreenGlobes. Read the USGBC press release here.
Lastly, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has begun collaborating with other groups on the certification of projects. AGC previously reported on GBCI’s work to certify WELL Buildings and Sustainable SITES projects (see related AGC article here, as well as press releases from the organizations here and here). In July, GBCI also formed a strategic business partnership with Bureau Veritas to maximize its capacity to certify LEED projects around the globe. The implementation schedule for this partnership has not yet been released. However, when the details are arranged, project teams around the world should soon be able to receive localized support for their projects in their own language. Read the USGBC press release here.
For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org. Hear it first, follow @AGCEnvironment on Twitter!
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