Should LEED Be The Standard?
Rockland County, located just north of New York City, is the latest municipality to require all of its county owned and operated buildings that cost over $1 million to be LEED Silver certified on a going forward basis.
While these announcements appear to be commonplace these days, the broader question of LEED's place in the building codes, as a prerequisite to obtaining permits and as a floor requirement instead of a laudable accomplishment remain. The USGBC in many public statements through representatives has stated that it wishes LEED to not become "standard" since that was not the original intent. However, the USGBC's many activists and local councils continue to lobby and encourage LEED becoming a threshhold standard.
The problems with such a requirement are already being seen in many sectors. For many building types, LEED standards either do not exist, or if they do exist, they are very difficult to meet. This is especially true in the retail and industrial sectors where no two buildings are alike and very often are developed to specifications dictated by their expected use and tenancy.
While a reader may believe that I am "anti-LEED", they would be wrong. LEED, like Energy Star, Green Globes, BRAEEM and other standards, have a great societal benefit and should be signify that something special has been accomplished. LEED has not been developed to be a base standard and should not become a base standard.
