"LEED 2009" Takes Effect in March
The next evolution of the LEED rating system passed member ballot by the United States Green Building Counsel (“USGBC”) and will take effect in March 2009.
Termed, LEED Version 3, it involves the following:
- changes to the LEED rating systems;
- changes to the professional accreditation requiremements; and
- efforts to standardize the different LEED rating systems.
One component of LEED Version 3 is LEED 2009. LEED 2009 is the new term for the updated rating systems for commercial buildings and will supersede the current LEED NC 2.2 system.
Changes introduced to the LEED rating system with the rollout of LEED 2009 will include the following:
- addition of regional credits;
- extra points within a project’s environmental zone;
- re-weighting of credits;
- incorporation of market and user feedback from Credit Interpretation Rulings on previous projects, and
- a “pilot process” to allow technical developments to be flexibly trialed and incorporated into LEED.
LEED 2009 increases available points for certain credits including:
- development density (from 1 to 5 points);
- alternative transportation (from 1 to 6 points);
- fuel-efficient vehicles (from 1 to 3 points);
- water efficient landscaping (from 1 to 2 points); and
- enhanced commissioning (from 1 to 2 points).
Projects started before LEED 2009 takes effect can elect to proceed under the previous version of the rating system.
LEED 2009 will include a new prerequisite requiring that projects
achieve water efficiency of at least 20% below a baseline. The timeline for the
rollout of LEED Version 3 is as follows:
- March 2009: Release of New Reference Guides and Workshops
- March 2009: LEED 2009 effective
- Fall 2009: Changes to professional accreditation system.
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