This past month, the General Services Administration took steps to engage in a supplemental review of the latest version of LEED from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), published in November 2013. The purpose of the review was to examine how LEEDv4 aligns with existing federal statutory, regulatory and executive order green building requirements. Previously, GSA recommended the federal government use LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 2009 and the Green Globes 2010 for federal construction and renovation projects. The GSA is the largest real estate owner in the U.S. and is required every five years under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to examine its green building policies.

According to the report, the new LEEDv4 Material and Resources credits (which includes environmental product declarations, health product declarations and responsible sourcing) scored less than full credit for alignment with Federal requirements. That is, the LEEDv4 certification system has options that meet the Federal Requirement or those options may have a lower standard, different baselines, different calculation methods or different ways to document compliance with the Federal Requirement.

Click here for more information on the GSA review process or contact Tien Peng at TPeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.