I'm afraid that a lot of the arguments for raising the bar are being made by people who are a lot more advanced in their thinking and practice than the overwhelming majority of USGBC members. And they are not even speaking the same language as those who are not yet using LEED at all, which represent even bigger percentages. This silent mega-majority is who we need to be reaching and bringing into the fold.
Smaller steps by a real majority of the industry will have a bigger impact than giant leaps by a few. Does anyone know an accurate number for the percentage of all US construction and renovation that is using LEED? I would guess it to be under 10%. We shouldn't forget about the 90%
When did LEED become a leadership recognition tool rather than a market transformation tool? I do not believe that raising the bar higher and higher on a smaller and smaller segment of the industry will have the effect that we all want to see.
Rob Watson
CEOECON Group
170 thumbs up
March 26, 2012 - 5:25 pm
For new construction the penetration of LEED certified projects is over 20%, but when you look at the addressable market of existing building renovation, that penetration is only about 3%, so even the overall 10% penetration estimate is probably generous for the US market as a whole.
WRT leadership recognition vs. market transformation, I think the goal was "both/and" but we must be very cautious not to run into Gandhi's Paradox: when a leader is 100 paces ahead of her followers, she is revered and called a Visionary. When she is 1000 paces ahead she is stoned and called a Heretic.
Gary Shlifer MS, LEED AP BD+C, Homes
Green Building Professional LEED AP BD+C, O+M, Homes - Chief Sustainability ProfessionalGuernsey.us
22 thumbs up
March 26, 2012 - 5:52 pm
Thanks Rob, a great quote. The quote that'll also mention is from a lesser well known historical figure who said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". (Mr. Spock) Which is antithetical to our current American culture as the needs of the 'few' have outweighed the needs of the many.
I will have to place LEED 2012 in the 1000 paces ahead catagory. I hope everyone will vote 'no' and again encourage usgbc to hold off on a rollout this year with such sweeping changes.
Rob Watson
CEOECON Group
170 thumbs up
March 26, 2012 - 6:00 pm
Thanks for your comments, Gary. There are many good things that could be included in 2012 that could move the standard forward, raise the bar and not decouple the LEED engine from the market train. If we were to have a 4th comment period on a dialed-back standard (and enough time to comment on it) I think we could have our cake and eat it too.
Martha Norbeck
PresidentC-Wise Design and Consulting
71 thumbs up
March 27, 2012 - 5:06 pm
This is out of sync, but I too am very concerned about the leap 2012 is proposing and I fear LEED is losing its way from its early simplicity.
For example, why break the sustainable sites into two categories? LEED was designed with the intention of being a simple five category system. I remember a GreenBuild keynote speaker standing up there with his hand open, saying we have 5 categories because we can count them on one hand. It’s simple and clear.
Creating another category is confusing and problematic. As a LEED consultant we are responsible for educating people about the system and creating a new category means reeducating people and also complicates the system even further. LEED needs to not lose its vision and stay a five fingered system.
Renaming all the points will confuse us and LEED is all we do. I’ve already had major clients tell me they may cease to require LEED because it will become too complicated and too expensive.
Furthermore, while the intent behind many of the revised credits is valuable it is too much too soon. As LEED consultants we spend time daily educating contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and distributers about LEED, the 2012 system is a step in the right direction but it is too large of a step to made in a year. We are still educating people on what LEED is let alone the intricacies of it. Please do not lose the small guys in your visioning process.
We appreciate that LEED continues to evolve and drive the market place, but if you make the starting line halfway up the mountain, it’s hard to go higher. The purpose of having the multiple levels of certification is to motivate projects to aim high. If the new system knocks what is currently LEED Gold down to LEED Certified it’s a disincentive. It’s just too hard and I worry people won’t seek LEED certification at all.