November 2004 was a big month for the worldwide green building industry. At the annual Greenbuild Conference, Canada, Mexico and China announced major green building initiatives, and two new versions of LEED, the U.S. green building certification system were launched.
The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program mushroomed from one official rating system to three, and the Canada Green Building Council launched its own version as well. If the market response to LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) and LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) is anything like what we’ve seen with the original LEED rating system (now called LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations – LEED NC), the Council’s period of rapid growth is far from over.
As LEED expands its reach, it is also getting more robust, with advancements like the new exam for LEED Accredited Professionals (LLED-APs) that was rolled out in September 2004. As word leaked out that the new exam would be more difficult than the old one, building professionals signed up in droves to beat the deadline. In the last month alone, the number of LEED-APs jumped from 9,000 to over 19,000!
The Canada Green Building Council launched its own version of LEED for New Construction and Major Renovation (LEED-NC). Under the licensing agreement with the US Green Building Council, buildings that achieve Canada certification will be recognized as LEED buildings by the USGBC and visa versa. Thus, the Canada version was required to be at least as stringent as the U.S. version.
The New LEED Exam
As a LEED-NC faculty member, I was asked to take the new exam shortly after it came out. My experience was that the new exam is indeed more challenging than the old one, but not dramatically so. And it certainly fulfills te goal of better testing the knowledge needed to guide a project through LEED certification.
Both the old and new exam are in multiple-choice format; however, while the old exam just asked for one correct choice from four possible answers to each question, the new exam required multiple correct selections for each question. It might ask, for example, which three items are cited as references for a particular credit, out of five options given. This more rigorous approach is offset by the fact that the exam is shorter (73 questions instead of 100), and only 39 correct answers (53.4%) are needed to pass.
The exam contains questions that are specific to LEED-NC – alternative modules will soon be available to test for expertise in LEED-EB and LEED-CI. Once those are released, candidates will be able to specify whether they wish to become accredited professionals for one, two, or all three LEED products. All successful candidates will be identified simply as “LEED Accredited Professionals” by the USGBC, but they will be free to indicate their area of expertise in their own materials.
LEED For Existing Buildings and Commercial Interiors Go Live
Following a strong show of support in the member balloting process, LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) was formally launched at the USGBC’s Greenbuild Conference this fall as the second LEED “product.”
LEED-EB could become a major force in the North America real estate market. Its promoters like to point out that there are 80 times more existing buildings than new construction projects, so the potential scale of the program is enormous.
There are 14 LEED-EB certified projects: one Platinum, 10 Gold, two Silver and one Certified. The Platinum-level California EPA Headquarters and the Silver-level National Geographic Society Headquarters, were recognized at the 2003 Greenbuild Conference.
William Krill, operations manager with Swinerton Builders, a company that has helped many projects get certified under LEED for New Construction, says working with LEED for Existing Buildings requires a shift in thinking. “LEED-EB emphasizes ongoing operations and maintenance, and it involves a lot of policy issues.”
LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) was also launched at Greenbuild, following its approval by USGBC members. It is intended to serve tenants who have control only over the space they inhabit, so it omits most (but not all) of the building-wide and site-related measures found in LEED for New Construction. A companion version, LEED for Core & Shell, currently in the pilot phase, is intended to work in tandem with LEED-CI to serve multi-tenant buildings.
Example: Interface’s Atlanta Showroom
Designers working toward certification under LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) are a key market for carpet manufacturer, Interface, Inc. So when the company began designing its showroom and retail space in Atlanta, it made sense to use the opportunity to learn firsthand what its customers would experience.
Interface’s 7,000 square foot showroom is the first project to reach Platinum under LEED-CI. The showroom is located in an area of Atlanta that is under-going significant urban renewal. It’s not just about space; the location also matter, notes John Wells, president of Interface Americas. “We’re trying to help change the way a community functions. Having college, residential, and retail coming together – seeing the work/play/live thing take place – is really cool. That has a huge impact on the environment.”
The showroom combines service and support to trade customers with the first dedicated retail location for the company’s residential carpet tile. The scope of LEED-CI is intended to reflect the aspects of a project over which the tenant has some control. Interface’s experience was that “it’s important to have building management on board to get Platinum. Issues that extend beyond Interface’s tenant improvement include the restrooms, building-wide recycling infrastructure, and bike racks,” says Wells.
Mexico Green Building Council Launched
The Consejo Mexicano de Construction Sustenable, the Mexico Green Building Council (MexicoGBC), formally announced its international launch during Greenbuild. Its mission is to “promote sustainable development through the realization and construction of a superior built environment.”
MexicoGBC plans to work with industry groups, research organizations, and government agencies at all levels. Its initial areas of activity will include spreading information, developing and implementing a national green building rating system, offering professional development, and initiating a nationwide green building awards program. www.mexicogbc.org
China Announces Green Building Plan
Also during Greenbuild, Qui Baoxing, vice minister of construction for the People’s Republic of China, announced the adoption of China’s green building strategy.
According to the country’s newly approved building energy efficiency standard, all new construction will be expected to reduce energy consumption by 50% compared to 1980s construction; full implementation is expected by the end of 2010. Additionally, a building retrofit program will target 25% of existing residential and commercial buildings in large cities (and lower percentages in less populous areas).
China has also begun a “National Green Building Innovation Award,” which will recognize green building projects, materials and product,” based on a scientific and standardized system” currently under development.
Urban areas in China are ex
pected to grow by 50% in the next 25 years, and China currently holds the world record for the most new construction, with 21.5 billion square feet of development each year. It was pointed out at the conference that half of all construction over the next 20 years is expected to be in China!
“Human need for living space evolves through four phases,” says Qui: “shelter, comfortable buildings, healthy buildings, and green buildings.” While the first uses little or no energy, Qui pointed out, the second and third have high energy consumption. He emphasized the need to design green buildings with high levels of energy efficiency and renewable energy, recycled materials, and “harmony between people and nature.”
He also announced plans for the first International Intelligent and Green Building Technologies and Products Conference and Expo, to be hels March 28-30, 2005 at the Beijing International Convention Center.
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Learn more about the annual Greenbuild conference: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Excerpted FROM Environmental Building News, a SustainableBusiness.com Content Partner.
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