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LEED to Recognize Living Building Challenge Energy and Water Requirements04-20-15 | News

LEED to Recognize Living Building Challenge Energy and Water Requirements

Over the last several years, U.S. Green Building Council has made concerted efforts to streamline LEED requirements and better complement existing rating systems around the world.
Courtesy of U.S. Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council announced that it will now recognize energy and water requirements from the Living Building Challenge green building system within the LEED green building program.

   "USGBC and the International Living Future Institute, developers of the Living Building Challenge, share a common commitment and goal to transform the way we design, build and operate our buildings," said USGBC Scot Horst, chief product officer. "The Challenge plays an important role on the green building performance curve and is a complement to LEED."

  In 2012, USGBC announced that it will recognize energy credits from Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) International, the United Kingdom's green-building rating program, in applications for LEED certification.

    "The LEED steering committee approved this approach," said Horst. "In the world of rating systems there is a sense of competition between systems. What we're saying is that what matters is that people are doing good environmental work. We want to focus on them and create harmonization between systems." 

   This move means that projects achieving the energy and water requirements in Living Building Challenge will be considered as technically equivalent to LEED. 

     LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is redefining the way we think about the places where we live, work, learn, play and worship. As an internationally recognized mark of excellence, LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. For more information go to www.usgbc.org.