LEED Report - Environment & Human Health, Inc.

The Green Building DebateII.LEED ProgramThe U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was formed in 1993 as a nonprofit“green building” organization. By 1994, the organization hadformed a committee composed of architects, real estate agents, abuilding owner, a lawyer, an environmentalist and industry representativesto develop a certification system for the sustainable buildingindustry, otherwise known as LEED. In 1997, the U.S. Department ofEnergy agreed to fund Green Building Council’s committee, whichwould launch a program (LEED Version 1.0) a year later. In the spring of2009, LEED Version 3.0 was released. 1LEED’s purpose is to evaluate “environmental performance from a wholebuilding perspective over a building’s life cycle, providing a definitivestandard for what constitutes a ‘green building.’” 2 The program isintended to protect the environment, protect occupant health, promotefinancial return, provide a standard for the term “green,” and promote anintegrated design process. 3Despite the freedom fromoversight by either Congressor state legislatures, LEEDstandards are beingrapidly incorporated intodiverse laws, regulationsand policies at alllevels of government.Energy and sustainable rating programs are developing rapidly andgaining wider adoption in places such as Great Britain, Europe, SouthAfrica, Australia and New Zealand. The most recognized programsoutside the United States include the U.K.’s BREEAM and Australia’sGreen Star.BREEAM, funded mainly by the U.K. government, provides research andinformation to the building industry on environmental protection andsustainable development. It is the most widely used environmentalrating scheme in the United Kingdom. While voluntary, it adopts the U.K.Building Regulation as a benchmark to rate the level of performanceimprovement. BREEAM was the inspiration for LEED, but lacks the strongcommercial mindset, which the U.K. Green Building Council (UKGBC) isnow trying to replicate. 411