This article was featured in our December 2014 issue of BUILDER Magazine.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has extended the project
registration deadline under the LEED 2009 rating system until Oct. 31, 2016. The
original date for LEED 2009 registration to close was June 15, 2015. The one-year extension gives builders more time to prepare for the increased rigor and
updates of this latest version of LEED.
“With LEED, we have a responsibility to set a high bar and we know that many leaders are capable of reaching it, presently or in the very near future,” Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of USGBC, said in a statement. “We want to support our LEED users as they move the market forward with us, and allowing them to utilize the LEED 2009 rating system for a little longer will help facilitate that.”
Though USGBC launched LEED v4 last year, a survey conducted at the 2014 Greenbuild conference revealed the market isn’t quite ready for new standards: 61 percent of respondents said they are “not ready” or “unsure” if they are ready to pursue LEED v4, indicating they required additional time to prepare.
USGBC hopes the extended registration deadline will provide for more comprehensive change, but LEED v4 will remain available for builders who are ready for the increased criteria.
“LEED v4 wasn’t designed to be easy. It is the next
generation of green building, and we are confident the market will meet us
there as they have in years past,” added Fedrizzi.
