From Fast Company, The Green Standard? LEED buildings get lots of buzz, but the point is getting lost (via Katrina):
But critics say that the LEED standard falls short of what’s possible in terms of saving energy. While a 25% to 30% improvement in energy use over conventional buildings sounds impressive, it pales compared with, say, the 50% target adopted by the dozens of firms that have signed on to the Architecture 2030 initiative. Assessing LEED is further complicated by the business growth of the Green Building Council. Awarding gold–and silver and platinum–certification has been a gold mine for the nonprofit organization. Once a small operation with seven paid employees, it now fields a 116-member staff and earns 95% of its $50 million annual budget.
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1 Jerry Jaz // Oct 19, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Pretty easy to take the USGBC to task for not reaching beyond unsustainable standards toward living-buildings and energy-positive project goals. I like that there is a standard at all, which may be used as a springboard for higher aspirations and achievements.
Good that they make money. A non-profit that generates positive cash-flow is a sustainable enterprise.
Important as standards are to build against, a true measure will be post-occupancy interviews to gauge the success of the environment with the inhabitants *and* the projected efficiencies as revealed in the utilities bill.
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