The US Green Building Council has instituted changes to the Leadership in Energy and Efficiency Design (LEED) accreditation process that both raise the standards for efficiency and sustainability and make LEED accreditation a simpler process for builders and designers.
The changes, the first made since 2006, streamline the credit structure of the five different LEED programs and weight prerequisites and credit to give more incentive for projects and features with more positive environmental impact. An interesting addition to the new LEED process allows regional councils to offer bonus points for green attributes that are of particular priority for that region. LEED’s guidelines have also been updated to insure that credits are given only for attributes that exceed traditional building codes.
In Massachusetts The Green Roundtable, the local green building association, is holding seminars to educate about the new guidelines, as well as providing access to its resource center in Cambridge.
Source: Noblett, Jackie. “Updated LEED ratings up the ante for green buildings.” Boston Business Journal. 8-14 May 2009: 14.
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