Friday, November 23rd 2012 

Great read from Building Design + Construction Magazine about the the LEED green building standard. Is it worth pursuing, or will companies simply pursue sustainability features and forego the building designation?

“The most intriguing finding, however, had to do with what seems to be a falloff of interest in LEED certification. In Turner’s 2008 survey, three-fifths of respondents (61%) said they were “very likely” (30%) or “extremely likely” (31%) to seek LEED certification for new or renovated projects. This started falling in 2010, to 53%, and dropped to 48% this year, with 25% “very likely” and 23% “extremely likely” to use LEED.

Why this apparent decline of interest in LEED? One factor, which was not specifically asked in the survey and is based primarily on anecdotal evidence, is that many AEC firms are building sustainably without asking the client’s permission. There’s also considerable evidence that many owners are demanding fairly high levels of sustainable design and construction (at no fee premium!) while forgoing the USGBC plaque. And a fairly large minority of owners (17%) said they would be extremely likely or very likely to pursue other certifications, notably Energy Star.”

Read the full article here.