LEED 2009 Opens for Public Comment

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of Directors today released details of LEED 2009 for public comment. LEED 2009 is part of the LEED v3 vision articulated by USGBC. It includes LEED 2009 – LEED rating system updates/revisions, revision and evolution of the LEED certification process and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of Directors today released details of LEED 2009 for public comment. LEED 2009 is part of the LEED v3 vision articulated by USGBC. It includes LEED 2009 – LEED rating system updates/revisions, revision and evolution of the LEED certification process and LEED Online v3.The new version of the rating system delivers against key environmental and human health impacts, and puts in place a transparent framework for weighing credits accordingly, based on the best available science, according to Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC.     LEED 2009 is the product of many volunteer hours and expertise provided by representatives of the building industry. It is a reorganization of the existing LEED rating system along with several key advances, including:• LEED prerequisite/credit alignment and harmonization• Predictable development cycle• Transparent environmental/human impact credit weighting and• RegionalizationOver the next few months, more specifics about all these changes will be released, which will include the outcome of an initiative to integrate LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) into LEED credits. LEED 2009 resets the bar for green building leadership because the urgency of this mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, according to Fedrizzi.Additional information on the certification process revisions and LEED Online v3 will be released in the coming months.