Green building rival emerges among LEED attacks

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The eco-friendly building ratingsystem known as LEED has been around for
more than a decade, powering agreen arms race in cities across the nation.It’s an industryforce, certifying
thousands of buildings and providing a marketing tool,tax breaks and other incentives to builders eager to
cash in on thesustainability craze.But now, LEED has a rival — a controversial,Portland, Ore.-based rating
system known as Green Globes, which marketsitself as a simpler, less expensive alternative.The
competitioncomes as the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design processfaces attacks from
policymakers, with several states banning orconsidering a ban on its use.LEED supporters say the
oppositionhas been driven by industry lobbyists who seek to increase Green Globes’prominence and damage the
longstanding king of green construction.Incities such as Portland, where sustainability and so-called
smartgrowth have been the rage for years, LEED has become a de facto brand,adorning everything from the
arena where the NBA’s Trail Blazers play tothe condos in a warehouse district.The widespread rating
systemadministered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit based inWashington, D.C., aims to reduce
the use of energy, water and greenhousegas emissions in new construction and renovation projects.Thoughit’s
voluntary and market-based, more than 30 states, multiple citiesand the federal government either require
LEED construction orincentivize its use in public buildings. LEED has 44,270 U.S. projects,many of which are
federal, state and local government buildings.But critics call it a cumbersome system that has monopolized
the market and doesn’t always deliver what it promises.LEEDis "a huge bureaucracy that’s extremely
complex and costs quite a bit,"said Byron Courts, director of engineering services for Portland’sMelvin
Mark Companies. He has used both LEED and its emerging rivalGreen Globes, which has issued about 850
building certifications in thepast few years.LEED supporters say lobbyists for the timber,plastics and
chemical industries are pushing the new system to redefinethe meaning of "green" and skirt LEED’s
stringent environmentalstandards, which were updated last month."The industry supportsGreen Globes
because it does not represent a threat to them, it’s theirway of having a green building without having to
change theirpractices," said Scot Horst, a Green Building Council senior vicepresident who oversees
LEED. "It’s a good tool, but it’s a light tool."Meanwhile,efforts are underway to ask Congress to
ban the use of LEED in federalconstruction projects, and executive orders and amendments in severalstates —
including Maine, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama — haveessentially banned LEED in state construction. North
Carolina, Floridaand, most recently, Ohio have also seen anti-LEED legislation.Evenin sustainability-minded
Oregon, the governor has ordered officials toexamine how green building rating systems benefit the state,
though noban has been put in place.While most of the orders, amendmentsand bills don’t mention LEED by name,
several ban rating systems thatthey say discriminate against American wood products.That’s adirect stab at
LEED, which recognizes a single, stringent forestcertification system — one that’s opposed by timber
industry giants suchas Weyerhaeuser, because it does not certify some of U.S. timber. GreenGlobes accepts
less stringent forest certification programs.Otherbans target green building rating systems that don’t use
the AmericanNational Standards Institute consensus process — Green Globes does, butLEED uses a different
process.Groups such as the AmericanChemistry Council say LEED lacks true consensus building and its
latestversion "discourages the use of certain products without adequate inputfrom technical
experts" — a reaction to LEED’s rejection of certaintoxic materials.Some critics say Green Globes is an
effort at"green-washing," founded by a former timber executive and overseen by aboard of directors
that includes the American Chemistry Council, theAmerican Wood Council, DOW Chemical, and the Vinyl
Institute.Itsadministrator, the Green Building Initiative, says Green Globes shouldbe judged "on
merit" — and though most experts agree the alternative isless strict than LEED, it does offer some
advantages.Just likeLEED, Green Globes offers a point-based rating system — but unlike LEED,Green Globes
applicants fill out an online questionnaire, get anon-site visit and feedback during the process. That cuts
down on theprice of hiring certified consultants who usually complete a LEEDapplication, said Courts.LEED
certification for retrofittingPortland’s Columbia Square building, for example, would have cost
under$100,000, Courts said; Green Globes cost only about $20,000 — one ofnine Green Globes projects
completed in the Portland area.ThoughGreen Globes is less stringent in some ways, especially when it comes
tothe types of materials permitted, Courts said, both rating systems usethe same yardstick for energy use in
existing building renovations.Onnew construction projects, LEED certification is still a must, Courts
—otherwise, "you might have a problem marketing the building," he said.Thatmight soon change: in
late October, the federal government gave GreenGlobes a stamp of approval. For the first time, the U.S.
GeneralServices Administration recommended that Green Globes can be usedalongside LEED for new construction
and renovation projects.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.

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