USGBC Take Step Toward Performance Transparency

By Paula MeltonLEED rating systems for new construction have been criticized—and even sued—for not requiring that buildings meet energy performance goals after occupants move in. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has responded by encouraging energy tracking and expanding its data collection programs; more recently, it has joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as an organizational stakeholder in hopes of promoting market-based building performance transparency.

GRI provides a framework to help standardize comprehensive sustainability reporting for companies and governments, and USGBC’s participation is aimed at improving the tools used to report on building performance. “Building performance metrics and reporting are crucial to our movement,” said Scott Horst, senior vice president for LEED, in a press release. “Data collection and reporting allow us to optimize the performance of our buildings in a transparent and teachable way.”

USGBC did not indicate any direct impact on the LEED rating systems or their users.