Last Public Comment Period on LEED v4 Opens March 1

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the last public comment period, open March 1 through March 31, 2013, on the fourth version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.  USGBC membership will vote on LEED v4 this summer. As previously reported (here and here), the USGBC has delayed extensively the member voting on the newest version of LEED (LEED v4, previously called LEED 2012) in order to perform a beta test and solicit more feedback on the proposed changes.  For this final round of comments, USGBC would like to focus on refining the credit language and the calculations used within the system.  Beginning March 1, all relevant information will be posted to the USGBC LEED v4 website (usgbc.org/leedv4).  Public users also can submit comments from that website. AGC anticipates that the proposed revision to LEED may put a greater administrative burden on contractors working on LEED projects — associated with gathering and reporting on more product information — when compared to prior versions.  For example, the latest draft available includes optional credits that would require disclosing information through environmental product declarations, reporting material ingredients, and reducing hazardous substances from the material supply chain.  The latest draft also includes a new prerequisite for managing and reporting on construction and demolition waste.  Likewise, the credit associated with this activity would no longer include alternative daily cover as a diverted waste. AGC has expressed concerned with some of the proposed changes as they are likely to impact the availability of materials used in the construction of LEED projects and, therefore, supported USGBC’s decision to delay LEED v4 and seek additional input.  USGBC presented an overview of the proposed LEED v4 and accepted contractor feedback at the 2012 AGC Contractors Environmental Conference and again in a virtual town hall meeting (Sept. 2012) with members of AGC’s Environmental Forum.  AGC continues to track LEED developments with an eye on potential impacts to the construction industry. For additional information, or if members have any specific concerns with the rating system, please contact Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org or (703) 837-5415.