LEED for Existing Buildings Goes Live

LEED-EB could become a major force in the North American real estate market. Its promoters like to point out that there are 80 times more existing buildings than new construction projects, so the potential scale of the program is enormous. LEED-EB is also the U.S. Green Building Council’s best response to criticism from federal agencies and others that the energy performance claims used to certify LEED-NC projects may not hold up in actual usage. Projects previously certified under LEED-NC, and those that were not, can be certified under LEED-EB. The LEED-EB program requires recertification at least every five years—documentation requirements and fees are lower for recertification than for initial certification. A list of the most important differences between LEED-EB and LEED-NC is provided in the following table.