First, I want to congratulate the USGBC on all the progress it has made in developing a more complete tool that more-than-ever reflects what it takes to make a green building. This clearly was not an easy process.
Nonetheless, for any such process to work, it must be used by those who will have the most impact on making our current building inventory more green. I wish to focus my remarks on existing buildings, as they represent well over 90% of the current building inventory, and with the economy being what it is, the number will increase.
The people who will make existing buildings more green are both the building owners and their facilities managers. The owners must pay for any changes, and the FMs must find a way to make them happen; they also must identify which changes they will find most practical.
It is clear to me that some with FM experience were likely to have served on the committee that developed the new LEED v4. But was the FM community adequately represented so that a betting person would gamble that the FM community will embrace the new LEED v4 enough to make a serious impact on energy consumption and the environment? Are the changes such that FMs will be willing to take the time and money to understand them and even implement what is necessary to earn LEED certification?
The answers to these questions will depend on how the FM community has been involved in developing the new LEED v4. in my opinion, the group is important enough to warrant a special focus group dedicated to FMs to address these types of questions. Besides having such a focus group, it is essential that such a group be comprised of those who have the right blend of knowledge and experience. All too often, I have seen such groups contain members who have had some FM experience or who have consulted or offered other services to FMs. For purposes of this discussion, these experiences are not the FM experiences that is needed, as these people are not in a position to have to find the time and money to implement these initiatives. For that to happen, the group needs to be served by those who actually manage buildings (and their budgets), and have done so for many years; even better are those who have managed multiple buildings, as they can offer the experience of what it takes to many different building types, not just one.
Has the USGBC had such a dedicated committee? If not, I plead with it to seriously consider it, even if it pushes the timeline back a bit. Because without the strong support of the FM community and their probable willingness to seek new LEED certification, the new LEED v4 will have been a very imformative exercise, but will not succeed as fully as intended in terms of making a major positive impact on the environment.
stuart carron
1 thumbs up
October 17, 2012 - 4:15 pm
I hear you Peter and agree that FMs operate in a different sphere. We take what we've got and improve it, sometimes without the luxury of any capital budget. It will be interesting to collect FMs reaction to V4, especially when most are still trying to digest V3. Real progress against climate change relies on greening existing buildings, and the Council must do everything possible to enlarge this tent. Thanks for the comments.
Peter Kimmel
PublisherFMLink
October 17, 2012 - 4:43 pm
Stuart, thanks for the feedback. While I conceptually agree that it is a good idea to wait until we get comments on v4 and then make any additional changes in the next version, I think that FMs (and to a certain extent, all other professionals involved in LEED) find it more and more difficult to deal with changes, even if they are for the better. For example, companies that offer tools to help FMs and others in their quest for LEED certification must then go and makeover their tools; and there are other stakeholders for whom a similar hardship may occur.
So, if one acknowledges that more could be investigated now, it may make more sense for the USGBC to do what one can to accommodate these needs of the FMs, resulting in a more applicable product that should have significantly more impact -- and hopefully a LEED version that will work well for more than a few years. Otherwise, it could become like one of the highways around some of our major cities -- outdated before it is even completed -- and we all know how we feel about that!
I am curious as to how others feel -- should we wait and address more of the FMs' need now? Or go ahead and release v4 knowing that there was much more that could have been explored with the FM audience to ensure that they might make more use of v4? Does having a new version every 3-4 years result in fewer new LEED-certified buildings than we otherwise might have had, or don't we think it matters?
Susan Walter
HDRLEEDuser Expert
1296 thumbs up
October 18, 2012 - 8:50 am
I'm curious, Peter, how much do you use LEED now and is it LEED for Existing Buildings? Are you being given LEED buildings and have little information on how to manage them? Or are you wanting a voice during the design and construction side?
Peter Kimmel
PublisherFMLink
October 18, 2012 - 10:53 am
Susan, as the Publisher of FMLink, I personally am not a LEED user at the present time. FMLink's role is to provide its audience (facilities managers) with as much information as they can to help them manage their facilities. Clearly, sustainability is a large part of that, and FMs are desperately seeking ways to make their buildings as green as possible (although they also have a large need to keep costs down as much as possible in doing so, as their budgets are getting chopped dramatically). There are a lot of facotrs that go into their decision-making processes, and short-term cost-benefit analyses are crucial.
FMLink is constantly striving to keep its fingers on the pulse of its audience, and I personally am very much in touch with many readers of FMLink, who are not shy about providing feedback to me. My initial comments are based solely on that feedback from others -- the ones who would be implementing measures to make their buildings more green and who would be the ones to go through the certification process. Nearly all are in existing facilities and and I can't think of one comment received about what to do with a new facility -- their dilemma seems to be more focused on what to do with an existing one.
I have received a few comments from those who have existing LEED buildings and are frustrated with having to go through another process, but the lion's share of the comments received are from those who do not have LEED-certified buildings. My comments have come via e-mail, phone calls and informal conversations with FMs at conferences (the two primary conferences where I obtain comments are those produced by IFMA and CoreNet Global -- note that I did not notice a substantial presence by anyone representing LEED at either of those organizations' conferences!).
I hope that this answers your questions.