The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has opened the first public comment period on LEED 2009, a reorganization of the existing LEED rating systems for commercial buildings.
The public comment period will be open until June 22 at 5 PM Pacific Time.
"Continuing to seek the right balance between technical advancement and market transformation was a driving force behind the LEED 2009 work," explains Scot Horst, chairman of the volunteer LEED Steering Committee, which leads the technical development of the LEED rating system.
"The 'big ideas' we've proposed include transparent weightings of LEED credits so the highest-priority credits achieve the most points, a new mechanism for incorporating bioregional credits, and a more nimble framework that supports rapid response to emerging environmental and human health issues."
The LEED Rating System was developed by USGBC to drive market transformation in the building industry by defining a consensus metric for leadership in green building.
"When it was introduced in 2000, the LEED Green Building Rating System helped to spark a revolution that is changing the way we build and operate our offices, schools, hospitals and homes," says Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC.
"LEED 2009 resets the bar for green building leadership because the urgency of our mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further."