Hello Tristan, Others,

I have been reading & tracking as closely as possible the discussions regarding the "cost of LEED" since 2001 and have always been disappointed in the ubiquitous avoidance of the cost of certification (i.e.that is, for the design team efforts, not the contractors' costs that are built into their contract or the actual LEED registration costs). I recall, sometime around 2002 the USGBC had on their website a write-up noting that design teams were reporting certification costs between $20,000 -$60,000, but, a few months after I first saw that, the USGBC took that down and never went close to that subject matter again. Nor have all thoe studies that looked at the construction cost premium (KEMAGreen, Davis Langdon, GSA, EBN, Kats,etc.). Especially with the development of the GBCI and the significant increase in bureaucracy and submittal information required (e.g. PIf1-4), I would really like to see some published consideration of this. Not that it would influence our opinion or preferred design approach, but I feel that the design teams - those that actually bring the USGBC's efforts to fruition - are too often left holding the proverbial bag, and so it would be great to see some recognition/discussion of the subject matter even if everyone agreed that it can only be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Thanks.