Consulting-Specifying Engineer - July 2008 - (Page 68)

Green Space Reform the LEED process BY HERNANDO MIRANDA, PE, LEED AP, Sole Proprietor, Soltierra LLC, Carlsbad, Calif. he U.S. Green Building Council recently released proposed versions of its LEED rating systems, collectively called LEED 2009. Use of the LEED system has grown tremendously, and is expected to accelerate as local and state government agencies pass resolutions requiring LEED certification for both public and private projects. H o w e v e r, L E E D 2009 is not a new Consultants hired by the USGBC version of LEED. should not be allowed to sell their It is intended to services as LEED consultants for be a much needed projects that they review. and long overdue re organization of LEED. LEED 2009 aims to provide consistency by aligning requirements and documentation across the various LEED rating systems, such as New Construction and Major Renovations, and Commercial Interiors. The advantage to users, designers, engineers, owners, and contractors is obvious: Learn the rules once, and apply them to any LEED project regardless of what LEED system is used. But a much bigger fix is required: Reform the LEED certification review process. Have you ever wondered why many of the LEED submittals requirements and calculations seem more complicated than they need Miranda has managed sustainto be? Why the LEED reference guides are ability for more than 100 LEED sometimes unclear, leaving it up to the project projects, including four certified team to figure out what to do, or to seek out Platinum and eight Gold. He has a special LEED consultant to help? served as vice chair of the LEED The consultants who develop LEED referIndoor Environmental Quality ence guides are the same consultants who Group, on the LEED Commercial certify LEED projects. And these same conInteriors Core Committee, and sultants also are hired on projects seeking as a member of the AIA Top 10 certification—an obvious conflict of interest. Green Buildings Committee. It’s human nature, and good business practice, T to give yourself an edge. For example, you can make your competitors charge more to complete a project, by making them jump through unnecessary hoops to cover the cost of the extra work they are forced to do. The harder the requirements are to understand, then the higher the fee that can be charged when selling consulting services. In an effort to address this problem, USGBC is spinning off the LEED certification work to a subsidiary called the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). However, GBCI and USGBC share the same physical address, and the upper management remains the same for the two entities. USGBC is still responsible for LEED, its requirements, and the certification process. True reform could be assisted greatly by the following recommendations: First, the consulting companies that sell LEED certification services should not be allowed to develop LEED documentation requirements. Second, companies that are contracted to adjudicate LEED submittals should not be allowed to review the submittals of their competitors. And finally, USGBC-hired consultants should not be allowed to sell their services as LEED project consultants, while they also are paid as reviewers of those projects completed by their competitors. The certification review consultants need to work directly as employees for the new GBCI entity. This would reduce the conflictof-interest problem, and the many troubles the USGBC knows it has with the certification review process that is now in place. LEED has grown up enough for truly independent consultants to perform the certification reviews. It’s time for the USGBC to take this step and get it done. 68 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • JULY 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consulting-Specifying Engineer - July 2008

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - July 2008 Contents Viewpoint Letters News M/E Roundtable 40 Under 40 Using Demand-Based Reset Strategies VFDs and Motors: Making the Right Match Grounding and Bonding Practices for Hazardous Areas Codes & Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - July 2008

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