USGBC Members Approve LEED 2009 Revisions

LEED 2009, a revision of the LEED Rating System first made available for comment in May 2008, has been approved by the 18,000 member organizations of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The revision is intended to create greater consistency among the several LEED rating systems, reflect a more scientifically grounded weighting of credits, and gracefully accommodate future changes (see EBN

Vol. 17, No. 6).

The affected LEED rating systems include the five nonresidential systems that are officially released: LEED for New Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, LEED for Core & Shell, LEED for Commercial Interiors, and LEED for Schools. Each of these systems now contain 100 points, weighted to reflect the relative importance of climate change. USGBC will update LEED 2009 biannually to keep the system up to date with technological and market developments, much as code organizations do with building codes.

Educational workshops on LEED 2009 will begin in February 2009, and projects will begin registering under the revised system in March. Projects that are registered under the current LEED system may either continue to use it as they move toward certification or adopt LEED 2009.