Should Feds Adopt LEED v4? Uncle Sam Wants Your Input

Following its controversial choice to give equal status to LEED and Green Globes (Feds Put Green Globes on Pedestal with LEED), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has completed a technical review of LEED v4 and is seeking public input on the results. The new review applies the methodology from a 2012 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory evaluation (see Green Globes Tops LEED in Federal Review, but Barely) to the latest version of LEED—necessary, says GSA, because the prior analysis focused on LEED 2009, now out of date.

GSA is requesting not only technical feedback about government use of LEED v4 credits but also procedural suggestions about how government agencies should choose green building rating systems in the future. The agency explains in a Federal Register notice that it would like comments on five questions:

• Which LEED v4 credits should federal agencies focus on?
• How can federal agencies participate more productively in rating system development?
• How can future rating system reviews, which are mandated by law, be more effective?
• How should these reviews present their findings?
• How can the reviews be thorough but still keep pace with rating system development?

Comments can be provided online or by fax, mail, or email. GSA will also host an online public listening session at 1 p.m. Eastern time on March 2, 2015.

For more information:

U.S. General Services Administration

gsa.gov