FEATURE ARTICLE, SEPTEMBER 2007

LEED-ING FIGURES
The politics and economics of sustainable development and LEED certification.
Nick Miller and Curtis Bailey

Miller

As sustainable development strategies continue to emerge from their former perception as an eccentric afterthought to a fundamental component of mainstream development processes, green building and design is playing an increasingly prominent role in the industry. From site selection and development to decisions about materials, processes and operations, issues surrounding sustainable development are impacting new and existing projects in surprising and influential ways.

Partly due to the prominence and professionalism of the system, and to the enthusiasm and ubiquity with which it has been adopted, qualifying and quantifying sustainable development techniques has largely become synonymous with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. A product of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED program was first established in 1997. What was at first a single set of guidelines has evolved into a complex and comprehensive set of nationally – and internationally – recognized standards with an accompanying ratings system. Today, LEED is unquestionably the industry standard for the design, construction and operation of sustainable, environmentally friendly structures.

Bailey

Ironically, as technological advances continue and the LEED guidelines become both more accepted and more achievable, the certification process can seem more daunting. At a glance, LEED standards can seem prohibitively complex and challenging, a difficult and unnecessary complication that does little more than present a new set of hoops for developers to jump through. Complicating matters, the industry is at a technological crossroads. While the economic benefits of green design and construction are becoming more and more evident, up-front costs can still be significant, and the return on investment from efficiencies and long-term energy savings is not always dramatic or even obvious.

Developers, builders, architects and designers are faced with a number of questions. How does a project or building become LEED certified? Aside from larger environmental benefits, does it make economic sense to “go green”? Which of those benefits are short term and which are long term? How do you quantify those savings? Are there design and development strategies that can make the certification a more flexible and intuitive process?

Happily, the answers to those thorny questions are not nearly as complex as some might think. In fact, developers thinking about going green might be closer than they realize.

The first question for developers — whether or not to pursue LEED certification — is one that should be answered early in the development process. Putting aside the details of the certification process for a moment, it is important to remember that LEED certification is entirely voluntary; different people, places and projects have different priorities, and the decision to pursue certification is one that should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Opened in 2006, Building B of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, is the first building in the state to achieve the platinum LEED certification.

While it is not without flaws, the LEED ratings system has come a long way. Innovative, ambitious and largely effective, LEED provides the kind of transparency, consistency and accountability that encourages design innovation and promotes sustainable ideals. In the diverse development industry, clarity is a precious commodity. The greatest benefit of LEED certification is that it provides that clarity, presenting a clear, unambiguous statement that codifies environmentally friendly initiatives and provides a formal system of classification for individual projects.

It is just a label, yes, but a powerful one. LEED certification is about much more than mere cachet. The public relations benefits for existing and potential clients, as well as for local communities, can be profound. Local and regional development climates differ, but there is often additional potential for added value through tax breaks, procedural efficiencies and municipal incentives.

In San Francisco for example, the city’s Department of Building Inspection, working closely with the Department of Environment and the Department of Planning, provides a range of incentives, including an expedited review and approval process, for Gold-certified LEED designs, and many other states, including Oregon, have similar incentives in place to encourage and reward environmentally friendly development.

While the savings and conveniences from review and approval incentives alone can be significant, there is a great deal of potential for longer-term financial benefits from the reduced energy costs that can accompany sustainable design. Green roofs and solar power are dramatic examples of technologies and innovations with dramatic promise but as yet uncertain investment potential. There are a myriad other subtle design and development decisions however, that are not only affordable and relatively easy to implement, but should be a fundamental part of every sound development process. These user-friendly strategies present ideal opportunities for developers to not only take steps toward becoming LEED certified, but toward designing, building and operating higher quality projects.

The process of obtaining LEED certification is most efficiently optimized starting early in the due diligence phase with a collaborative effort led by the owner, architect, civil engineer, mechanical engineer and general contractor. Ideally, this collaboration begins before the site is even selected. The straightforward, online, point-based LEED scoring process caters to the disciplined-based team approach with helpful, organized submittal templates. Point or credit interpretations may be needed for items that may not fit one of the preset templates. These interpretations are available online, either by reviewing past interpretations applied to other projects or by requesting a formal ruling. As municipal codes, equipment and construction practices evolve with technology advancements, you may be surprised by how many LEED credits apply to existing development practices. In fact, there are a number of standards and practices that most developers already follow that can earn credits under LEED.

There are actually four levels of LEED certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Currently, a project or structure qualifies to become LEED certified by achieving 26 out of a possible 69 total points on the list. Seven of those points are mandatory prerequisites that virtually every project meets already (non-smoking buildings, a basic soil erosion and sediment control plan, a recycling area, minimum fresh air ventilation standards, and some basic mechanical system components), leaving only 19 credits to account for to achieve certification.

Depending on regional specifics, the contours of both the existing geographic and legislative landscapes may provide additional opportunities to earn points toward certification. Most municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, for example, have basic existing stormwater management requirements that exceed the LEED requirement. Many other Phoenix-area developments already adhere to water efficient landscaping regulations that would qualify them for additional credits.

Developers can earn additional points towards certification by implementing other relatively easy or cost-effective measures. Using a white roofing membrane instead of black material, for example, has a higher initial price tag, but a rapid return on investment, as the reduced cooling loads in summer typically recoup the cost of the initial outlay after only 2 years. Using at least 50 percent local vegetation for landscaping and following basic lighting, materials and systems standards can earn more points. Other qualifying options, such as providing bicycle rack storage and ensuring that a member of the design team is a LEED-accredited professional, are simple ways to satisfy additional point requirements.

The details will vary from project to project and from region to region, but in general, development professionals can take enormous strides towards sustainability and LEED certification by paying close attention to the fundamentals, the oft-overlooked and sometimes not immediately obvious factors of sustainable design. Site selection, soil erosion and sediment control, stormwater management, landscape and irrigation design are all seemingly subtle factors that can have a tremendous impact on the environmental profile and energy-saving capacity of a structure or development.

One of the best ways to ensure that those factors are not just addressed, but prioritized, is to involve civil engineering professionals. Quality sustainable design requires a collaborative effort between planning and design professionals, landscape architects, design architects and civil engineers. Bringing the collective expertise and different perspectives of those professionals together early in the development process can assist with planning and site development and facilitate processes that will generate valuable savings and efficiencies in the long run.

Today, sustainability is more than a buzzword. Green, environmentally friendly strategies are becoming the standard, and the industry, as well the surrounding professional, civic educational and social environments, are beginning to reflect that shift.

In fact, this fall Arizona State University in Tempe will become the first college in the nation to open a School of Sustainability, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in studies that will focus on adaptive solutions to a changing world, sustainable energy, materials and technologies, water quality and preservation, social and economic factors, biodiversity, and governance and policy issues. As of March 2005, Scottsdale, Arizona, became the first city in the country to adopt the LEED Gold level of certification as a requirement for every new public building.

The field is still evolving, and the technologies, strategies, policies and legislature are still taking shape, but the overall direction is clear. Green design is becoming more than just a technical challenge, but a comprehensive perspective that will inform every design and development decision. Perhaps the most attractive benefit of all for developers when deciding how and if to address LEED certification is the opportunity to create the kind of high-quality sustainable designs that will position them at the forefront of this emerging field.

Nick Miller is a team leader in Atwell-Hicks’ Commercial Services Group and Curtis Bailey is a senior design engineer in the firm’s Phoenix office.


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