Existing buildings can now be LEED-certified

In June, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the city’s newly constructed public buildings will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

While Springfield isn’t quite on par with Chicago, which Daley stated will strive to be the most environmentally-friendly city in the United States, the Queen City is adding its first high-profile, LEED-certified green building project in the form of the Discovery Center’s $3.5 million expansion, now under construction by DeWitt & Associates.

But LEED certification is no longer available only for new construction.

The U.S. Green Building Council announced Oct. 22 the release of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Existing Building (LEED-EB) Green Building Rating System.

Previously a pilot program, the rating system has been fully balloted by the USGBC membership and is ready to launch.

LEED-EB was designed to meet market demand for an existing building rating system following the success of the LEED for new construction system.

LEED-EB makes LEED certification available to existing buildings and provides an opportunity for ongoing recertification for previously certified LEED buildings. LEED-EB helps building owners and managers bring the performance of their buildings up to a high level and maintain high performance over the long term.

Benefits of LEED-EB include energy savings, water savings and healthier indoor environments.

“We are very excited that LEED-EB has been approved by the ballot of our USGBC members,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC President, CEO & Founding Chair, in a news release.

“LEED (for new construction) is rapidly transforming the design and construction of new buildings to sustainable practices. Now with LEED-EB approved, the USGBC has the tools in place to start transforming the existing buildings market to sustainable practices as well.”

With LEED certification in place for new and existing structures, “the USGBC is positioned to help building owners and managers make both new and existing buildings improve their performance over time and become more sustainable.”

Development of LEED-EB started in 2001 and the pilot was launched in January 2002. There are 99 buildings, comprising 31.5 million square feet, registered in the pilot.

Pilot buildings are in 28 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and Brazil. Information on LEED-EB is available on the USGBC Web site at www.usgbc.org.

Founded in 1993, the U.S. Green Building Council is a coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.