In response to stakeholder concerns, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced on June 4 the decision to delay until 2013 the member voting on the newest version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system—LEED 2012. USGBC also has renamed the LEED 2012 draft to LEED v4 and will initiate a LEED v4 beta test.
AGC is supportive of this delay, which will provide the Council valuable time to “test drive” LEED v4, improve understanding of and solicit feedback on the expansive changes from the version currently in use, LEED 2009. As previously reported, LEED 2012 (now v4) proposals have incorporated controversial new credits that could greatly limit the use of common materials in construction—a concern for public buildings and private buildings in areas across the US where use of LEED is either required or highly incentivized. USGBC responded to these concerns and this delay is part of the process to obtain further information.
USGBC’s Brendan Owens, vice president of LEED technical development, discussed the new timeline for v4 and some of the proposed changes during a session on June 7 at the AGC Contractors Environmental Conference (held in Arlington, Va. on June 7 and 8). AGC has begun discussions with USGBC on specific outreach to the construction community to gain their unique perspective. Please stay tuned for details when they are finalized.
USGBC also will open the fifth public comment period from October 2, 2012, through December 10, 2012.
For more information, visit the USGBC website at www.usgbc.org/LEEDv4 or contact AGC’s Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org or (703) 837-5415.
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