June 5, 2008
CoStar News

Buildings account for 39 percent of total U.S. energy consumption -- more than the transportation sector -- and 71 percent of the nation's electricity. 

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC ) is working on making improvements to its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ) Rating System that  push for greater energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions.

Expected to be launched in January 2009, LEED 2009 will increase the value of credits in those categories, which many believe are devalued in current point allocations. Right now, potentially high-dollar credits associated with the most environmental impact, such as efficient HVAC systems and green roofs, are valued roughly the same as lower impact credits for features like bike racks and carbon dioxide detectors. Re-weighting credits proposed under LEED 2009 is intended to encourage users to choose more environmentally significant options in order to achieve certification, rather than opting for the easiest and least expensive credits.

The timing of the changes, which come as LEED has established itself as the industry's green building standard, is no accident.   According to a report by real estate investment manager RREEF, USGBC certified as many LEED projects in a 17-month span in 2006 and 2007 as it did in the first six years of LEED's existence. The Washington, DC-based nonprofit has a backlog of more than 10,000 individual projects totaling 3.5 billion square feet registered for LEED certification according to its latest count, with "dozens more signing up everyday," USGBC said.

USGBC's membership has increased 10-fold to nearly 15,000 member organizations and 91,000 individuals in that time.
 

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