Recently, I have had several people state things such as: “I hear that Green Codes are going to be implemented in municipalities and states across the country. Won’t this negate the need for LEED?” If only it were that simple. As I have been fond of saying over the last four or five years, I have no stock holdings in the USGBC and so have nothing to gain or lose in client’s pursuit of certification. To me, LEED has always been a means to an end to help owners and builders create more sustainable buildings—facilities that consume less (water, energy, materials, and other resources) and in some cases even help to produce and restore (solar energy, habitat restoration, etc.). In fact, it was the original goal of the USGBC to change the market to the point where LEED certification would become unnecessary because the requirements to obtain certification would become standard practice.

However, if you are asking me whether or not I think that Green Code will eliminate LEED certifications, my answer is: absolutely not. In the case of our typical client, LEED certification is sought after to receive the certification itself, usually for marketing purposes. They want a plaque they can hang in their lobby and highlight on their website to demonstrate to their shareholders and customers alike that they are environmentally responsible and stewards of the environment. Green Code will never serve the same purpose. A client cannot brag: “We met the code, the same code every other business had to meet.” This does not meet the goal of our clients who are seeking LEED certification. So, I believe our clients will continue to seek certification at the silver, gold, and platinum levels whatever happens with code requirements.

I also believe the USGBC and LEED will adjust and increase the requirements necessary to achieve the various levels of certification in order to always stay above what is required by code. The USGBC/GBCI want their certification to mean something and to have a value to those who have sought it in the past and who will continue to seek it going forward. Our clients want to be innovators, not followers and not those who do just enough to meet code.

In closing:

What will be the fate of LEED and the USGBC?

They will continue to adapt and grow and they are not going away. Our clients will continue to seek certification and designers/engineers who hope to survive in this market had better be prepared to stay on the cutting edge of sustainability if they wish to survive.

Will Green Code negate the need for LEED certification?

No. The original end goal of certification for our typical clients remains the end goal today and going forward. If anything, Green Code will make it easier for the client to obtain LEED certification since all designers and engineers will be required to incorporate sustainability into their designs. All it will require of the client to go that one step further in order to earn the certification itself is a little more innovation as well as the cost of certification itself.

A word of caution to the USGBC/GBCI:

While I believe your place is secure in the building industry, I would advise you against making this process even more bureaucratic, complicated, and cumbersome (not to mention expensive). When the amount of cost and effort required to obtain certification outweighs the value of the certification and plaque, clients will think twice before pursuing certification. This is already becoming a concern when we get different responses from the GBCI reviewers for submitting almost identical information for similar projects—one project “earns” the point while the other one is “denied”. When you don’t hold everyone to the same standard, you lose your credibility. And, when even the selection of your plaque becomes a multiple step process that requires hours of effort, you have a problem leading (not leeding) toward nullifying the value of your certification. Keep it simple and don’t nickel and dime those who are already going through great effort (not to mention expense) to earn your approval to get their certification and plaque.