New LEED equation still mocking the green movement

The U.S. Green Building Council came out with a new version of green standards April 27, but critics say the new rules have the same old flaw.

They grant points for the environmental impact of everything from paint to appliances to the number of bike racks.

The problem is that businesses can rack up enough points for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation without even installing a high-efficient heating and cooling system.

Why is that a problem? Because in terms of long-term impact, the energy used to regulate the building’s temperature has the largest impact. The U.S. Department of Energy shows buildings suck up 39 percent of the energy and 74 percent of the electricity consumed in the U.S.

With such a huge impact, the LEED program should really be focused on actual energy used, not just projections.

“The three most important things to make a building environmentally friendly, are energy use, energy use, energy use,” New York City engineer Henry Gifford said to the Environment Report. “All the other things in the LEED checklist, which I think are wisely chosen and very important, they pale in comparison to the energy use.”

To make sure certified green buildings live up to their reputations, the occupants should be required to turn in heating and cooling information. That way, LEED certifiers can make sure the designers didn’t exaggerate their energy-use predictions for the sake of a fancy plaque.

But give the LEED program some credit. Because of its popularity, more developers, architects and engineers are pressured to take environmental principals into consideration.

Although the new set of rules comes with the same problem of tracking energy use, the nonprofit Green Building Council still made some important changes. The new rules take into account reducing carbon emissions and water conservation, according to this Cincinnati Enquirer report.

The rules also changed to reflect green challenges unique to certain neighborhoods. For example, an urban building project would get extra points for using space wisely.

Programs like LEED are pushing the construction industry in the right direction, but the problem of real energy usage still looms.