Digital signature / initials

The professional needs to sign.

If the only person on the project team in LEED Online is the LEED AP/Manager this would look suspicous to the reviewer. The idea behind the documentation is to have the designers and contractors complete the forms. The role of the LEED AP is to guide the team in the implementation of LEED, not just do it all for them.

If the project team is unable or unwilling to use the
signatory field in the form, they may alternatively upload a document signed by the responsible party with the
same declaration. This can be individual documents for each credit or a combined list, but it must be uploaded
in each applicable credit. This alternative documentation path is not acceptable for any Owner required signatories.

I've phoned with USGBC and verified that the owner's agent may be the "LEED Project Owner" and therefore has signing rights in the "Owner" fields. As the Project LEED AP is often this person, it is often the case that they will sign here.

My personal position is often the project LEED AP, Owner, Building Simulator, ASHRAE compliance checker and many many more. I am in Germany and deal with German team members who often refuse to hear or see anything in English, don't have a clue about MANY American norms and codes and basically want to buy a product, LEED certificate, like a piece of cheese. Getting team members to regiter on LEEDonline is only feasible for a select few...mainly members on my in-house team (including MEP engineers) and the Architects.

The client expects us to deliver LEED (cheese), and wants as little self work as possible. Sometimes the client is the Architect, sometimes the General Contractor, sometimes the owner.

This should not be suspicious to the reviewers...because this is the reality.

Your clients need to understand that LEED is not cheese.

To work effectively LEED requires buy in from all of the team members, owner and professionals included. Without this buy in it has far less meaning. Basically it is reduced to an owner buying a plaque (or cheese). This is not the intent of LEED and the wrong way to use this tool in my opinion.

Very correct. But most of the time the GC has already sold the owner a "LEED certified" building before we even hear of the project.

Basically the GC has a contract to deliver and finds an expert who is willing to "do it for him" or to as great a degree as possible. If we don't give him a piece of cheese, he'll find someone who will. GREEN WASHING if you will.

In real life it's all about SELL SELL SELL! No matter how good the principle, how good the technology, if you can't sell it, no one cares.

Bottom line is that I'd rather the project land with me where I am in a position to minimize the "green washing" and use the LEED system to force the team into a responsible design for the deligated budget, than it land with someone who will "wash it through", or be dishonest about the costs and efforts and give the system a bad name.

For us it means much more effort for much less pay, but until the people putting up the money learn, the architects and the GCs learn what it means to certify a building, we'll have to bite the bullet.

All we can do is eduction folks and keep fighting the good fight. So keep pushing Jean.

By the way, the reviewers are paid to be suspicious in an attempt to make sure LEED continues to have value and integrity and prevent, to the extent possible, excessive greenwashing as well.

What about a proejct where the one person serves many roles? Like the owner is also the GC and architect, etc.?

Nena, there must be a way to do this but I'm not sure offhand would it would be. I would suggest asking GBCI via the feedback link on LEED Online, and posting back here what you learn.

Nena, when I create a commissioning report I include a project team contact list which includes the owner, LEED consultant, commissioning authority, design team and construction team.

Some of my projects have included an entity that serves more than one role. I create the project team list accordingly, write a brief narrative and upload it to Plf4-4 under the "optional narrative" section.

This has been successful on previous LEED projects.
Hope this helps.