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
| Apr 2, 2013
Green building consultant explores the truth about green building performance in new book
A new book from leading sustainability, green building author and expert Jerry Yudelson challenges assumptions about the value of sustainable design and environmentally-friendly buildings.
| Apr 1, 2013
Half of building owners use 'smart' technologies, says survey
A survey of 291 building owners by IDC Energy Insights shows that 50% of owners use smart building technologies, such as HVAC controls, lighting controls, and analytics/data management.
| Mar 29, 2013
Stanford researchers develop nanophotonic panel that reflects sun's heat out of the atmosphere
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight, but actually beams the thermal energy out of the earth's atmosphere.
| Mar 27, 2013
Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem
The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.
| Mar 22, 2013
Earn $500 as a DOE proposal reviewer
The DOE'S Building Technologies Office this morning put out a call to the AEC industry for expert reviewers for its new energy-efficiency initiative for small commercial buildings, which make up more than 90% of the commercial building stock.
| Mar 21, 2013
Best Firms to Work For: Enermodal Engineering is green to the core
At Enermodal Engineering, there’s only one kind of building—a sustainable one.
| Mar 19, 2013
New LEED for Neighborhood Development and Historic Preservation guide released
A new guidance manual, LEED for Neighborhood Development and Historic Preservation, outlines strategies geared towards helping building teams incorporate historic resources into their developments.
| Mar 14, 2013
25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.
| Mar 10, 2013
Walgreens to build first net-zero energy retail store
Walgreens announced plans last week to build one of the nation's first net-zero retail stores. The Evanston, Ill., location will utilize solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, LED lighting and ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration to produce energy equal to or greater than the building consumes.
