Speaking as a manufacturer and someone who has been involved with LEED since its original version of NC, I commend the USGBC for trying to move things forward, but in my own experience, true life cycle assesments are done by very few manufacturers, partly because almost nothing is built with one single component and so you have to rely on many suppliers to be able to give you information that they may not even have. Materials are what make buildings.....until the majority of manufacturers are able to complete acurate LCA's this version will be very difficult to validate. Even when LCA's are done they are not conclusive and you can read them a variety of ways. There is rarely a definative answer. Very few manufacturers have the means to complete an expensive LCA, especially, in this economy. The elite 1% will win out over smaller start-ups which is what the country needs at the moment. I believe in the idea, but timing is bad and accessment tools for material selection ( LCA's) are not quite as far along as everyone would believe them to be.
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LEEDuser Basic Member
5 thumbs up