It has become almost fashionable to build energy efficient, environmentally friendly buildings. The lure of appearing chic has people learning the new buzz words and clichés like “green building” or “sustainability.” Practical considerations as well as popularity, however, are often behind the decision to build green.
Perhaps the best known institution of all those responsible for making environmental conscientiousness attractive to the building industry is the United States Green Building Council. The USGBC is not a governmental agency. Its rules are not statutorily created, and it does not impose regulations by legal mandate. It is a private, nonprofit foundation that created the now famous “LEED” certification process. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and, interestingly, LEED is a registered trademark.
A building owner can apply to the USGBC to have its building LEED- certified. The Green Building Council reviews the completed building’s plans and certain engineering specifications, and awards points, or “credits,” in six categories: siting, water use, energy, materials, indoor air quality and innovation in design. If the Council awards enough credits, USGBC issues a plaque verifying the building as LEED certified or, if more than the basic threshold is met, a plaque verifying Silver, Gold, or Platinum LEED certification is given for proud display by the building owner.
An applicant can appeal the Council’s denial of credits by paying a fee of $500 per credit appealed and submitting materials for an Appeal LEED Review back to the USGBC, but recourse through the courts is not part of the process. As mentioned, the Green Building Council is a private foundation, and its certifications are a matter of a voluntary contractual submittal by the applicant, not a matter of building code requirement or statutory right.
Obtaining LEED certification seems to be good these days for a building owner’s public relations. The certification and the plaque do, however, come at a price. The
USGBC website is a little vague about the application fees, but they appear to be substantial. The Park City (Utah) Ice Arena was reportedly built to LEED certification standards, and when the Park City mayor found out that the certification was going to cost more than $27,000 the city decided to forego the plaque and spent the money on additional building features.
Aspiring to meet the LEED standards can have real financial benefits, though, and not just promotional benefits. Some professionals have estimated that incorporating energy-saving and other environmentally-friendly features consistent with LEED standards increases commercial building costs by only about 2 percent. The long term cost savings in energy consumption or water use, combined with the increased demand for the fashionable “green” buildings by the environmentally concerned and the politically motivated buyers and renters can easily cover such marginal costs. No wonder so many businesses are jumping on this bandwagon, trying to build according to LEED standards, and even spending the extra money to get the plaque.
David W. Meyer is an of-counsel attorney with the Vancouver office of Bullivant, Houser, Bailey PC, a West Coast regional, multipractice law firm with seven offices in four states. His practice emphasizes strategic planning, contract drafting and negotiation for clients under the areas of business law, estate planning, real estate and land use. He can be reached at 360-737-2301 or david.meyer@bullivant.com.
