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.
“The Challenge plays an important role on the green building performance curve and is a complement to LEED,” said Scot Horst, chief product officer, USGBC. “The LEED steering committee approved this approach. In the world of rating systems there is a sense of competition between systems, and what we’re saying is that what matters is that people are doing good environmental work. We want to focus on them and create harmonization between systems.”
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 Kingdom’s green-building rating program, in applications for LEED certification.
Related Stories
Green | Apr 22, 2015
GSA's Federal Center South Building honored with AIA Top Ten Plus Award for 'verified' sustainable performance
The annual award recognizes green building projects that have quantifiable metrics demonstrating the performance and positive impact of the sustainable design.
Green | Apr 20, 2015
USGBC opens public comment period for LEED for existing multifamily buildings
The new LEED Operations and Maintenance: Multifamily program will offer solutions for existing multifamily projects with at least 20 units.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 16, 2015
Milwaukee’s Lakeshore State Park visitor center will be ‘off the grid’
The plans also include a built-in wastewater treatment system and rainwater collection.
Green | Apr 16, 2015
Passive House Institute introduces new categories for building certification
The new evaluation procedure considers the building in an environment where only renewable energy is used. Sun and wind provide the primary electricity.
Green | Apr 16, 2015
New version of Building Energy Data Exchange Specification launched
BEDES is a dictionary that facilitates consistent exchange of building characteristics and energy use data between tools and databases in the building energy efficiency sector.
Green | Apr 7, 2015
USGBC survey shows Fortune 200 companies prioritize green building
The world’s top-performing companies are prioritizing sustainability as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts, and a majority of them are using LEED to achieve their goals, according to the new survey.
Codes and Standards | Apr 6, 2015
DOE releases Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines
The guidelines are aimed at strengthening and streamlining commercial building workforce training and certification programs for workers in energy auditing, building commissioning, building operations, and energy management.
Green | Apr 3, 2015
Georgia may ban use of LEED on state buildings
Georgia's state legislature is considering a measure to require all state buildings to only use green building standards that permit the use of Georgia's lumber.
Green | Apr 3, 2015
Energy benchmarking law helps make D.C. top ranked Energy Star city
First-in-the-nation law requires public reporting of annual energy performance
Green | Apr 1, 2015
Global wind power installations expected to slow through 2019
After a 20% falloff in 2013, the global wind power industry made a strong comeback in 2014, with a record 51.2 gigawatts installed. But a new report from Navigant Research forecasts a curtailment in growth.