The U.S. Green Building Council will now recognize energy and water requirements from the Living Building Challenge within the LEED green building program.
This move means that projects achieving the energy and water requirements in Living Building Challenge will be considered as technically equivalent to LEED.
âThe Challenge plays an important role on the green building performance curve and is a complement to LEED,â said Scot Horst, chief product officer, USGBC. âThe LEED steering committee approved this approach. In the world of rating systems there is a sense of competition between systems, and what weâre saying is that what matters is that people are doing good environmental work. We want to focus on them and create harmonization between systems.â
USGBC took a similar step in 2012, when it said it would recognize energy credits from Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) International, the United Kingdomâs green-building rating program, in applications for LEED certification.
Related Stories
Green | Jan 31, 2018
U.S. Green Building Council releases annual top 10 states for LEED green building per capita
Massachusetts tops the list for the second year; New York, Hawaii and Illinois showcase leadership in geographically diverse locations.
Green | Jan 30, 2018
Welcome to the Jungle: Amazonâs Spheres have opened to employees and the public
The Spheres provide the most unique aspect of Amazonâs downtown Seattle headquarters.
Green | Jan 15, 2018
Revolutionizing the standard green lease
The DOE Better Buildings Initiative has made a bold statement calling 2018 the âYear of the Leaseâ.
Green | Dec 22, 2017
Green builders can use âbig dataâ to make design decisions
More and more, green project teams are relying on publicly available âexternal datasetsâ to prioritize sustainable design decisions, says sustainability consultant Adele Houghton.
Giants 400 | Oct 31, 2017
A more intense shade of green
Zero-net energy, sustainability, and wellness are goals more developers and AEC teams strive for.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2017
Top 85 green construction firms
Turner Construction Co., Clark Group, and AECOM top BD+Câs ranking of the nationâs largest green sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2017
Top 45 green engineering firms
WSP, AECOM, and Arup top BD+Câs ranking of the nationâs largest green sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2017
Top 130 green architecture firms
Gensler, Stantec, and HOK top BD+Câs ranking of the nationâs largest green sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Greenbuild Report | Oct 18, 2017
Rebuild, retreat, or resist
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma expose the necessityâand limitationsâof resilient design and construction measures.
Sustainability | Oct 16, 2017
A negative emissions power plant is now operational in Iceland
The geothermal power plant in Hellisheidi, Iceland was outfitted with a Climeworks DAC module.
