from the ground up - The Tyee

How Do They Decide a Building is ‘Green’?The Tyee Guide to green building certification systems in Canada.By Monte PaulsenArticle first published on April 14, 2010 by TheTyee.ca.LEED. Built Green. BOMA BESt. Green Globes.Passivhaus. Living Building. Got it?Of course not. No worries, though. You’ve found TheTyee Guide to green building certification systemsin Canada. Give us 10 minutes, and we’ll teach youenough about green building certification to fake yourway through a cocktail party with the arrogant architectof your choosing.Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignLEED, as this mouthful of awkward acronym is moreeasily described, is the leading green building ratingsystem in the U.S. and Canada. There are now morethan 32,000 projects registered in the LEED program,plus 7,748 projects already certified.The LEED standard is set -- and repeatedly rewritten-- by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council,and administered by the Green Building CertificationInstitute.The Canada Green Building Council is one of 16international green building councils that maintain amirror-like standard that preserves the structure andintents of the American version, while adapting minordetails for domestic conditions and building codes.Through such affiliations, LEED is now in more than90 countries.The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and itsmany sisters are on a mission to change the (built)world. Setting green building standards is only the beginningof an agenda that includes rewriting buildingcodes, transforming the marketplace and educatingthe public. The USGBC warns that buildings are responsiblefor 39 per cent of American CO2 emissions,and promises that a commitment to green building canmeet 85 per cent of that nation’s future demand forenergy while generating 2.5 million new jobs.LEED was drafted through a consensus-based processin the late 1990s, and the first rating tool, LEED forNew Construction, was launched in 2000. The LEEDstandards are continually revised by a sprawling networkof committees.There are now six LEED Canada rating systems,including LEED for Commercial Interiors, LEED forCore and Shell, LEED for Existing Buildings, LEEDfor Homes and LEED for Neighbourhood Developments.All LEED certification systems are structured around28