LEED: To Certify or Not…

by John F. Wright, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP

….That is the question. After more than 25 years of market presence and global dominance, there remains a polarizing debate regarding the value of pursuing LEED Certification.

What is LEED?

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system was created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is arguably the most widely recognized green building rating system in the world. Revolutionary for its time, the impetus of the development of the rating system was to create a common framework for green building design, construction, and operations that met generally accepted minimum standards for performance.  The pilot program was first released in 1998, with the rating system quickly evolving and becoming more widely available in 2000.

Since its introduction, LEED has become the common household name for green building rating systems – the ‘Kleenex’ for sustainable design and measurement. LEED was a trailblazer for the multitude of sustainable and health-focused design and maintenance standards that have been developed in the past 2 decades. While consistently transforming to respond to emerging needs and data, it has established a universal, holistic system for reducing negative environmental impacts, resource conservation, elevating the importance of human health, reducing carbon emissions and globally addressing climate change. Leading the trillion-dollar industry of green building, there are now nearly 200,000 LEED-certified projects located in over 180 countries, and it is currently estimated that there are 205,000 accredited professionals worldwide.

Spiezle’s staff is comprised of a notable percentage of professionals with a variety of credentials, most being LEED accreditation. Over the past 20 years, our firm has delivered more than a dozen LEED certified buildings, provided LEED consulting services to clients and other professionals, and integrated the rating system’s goals into a myriad of planning and design efforts. So, the apparent dominance and perfusion of the family of LEED rating systems beg the question – is it worth it?

The Certification Process:

While the execution of every project is unique, there are common steps that must be undertaken on the path to certification.  To begin with, although the rating system was developed by the USGBC, it is administered by an independent organization called the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). Before registering a project, several important decisions need to be made by the collective team, including the critical decision of whether the project will actually pursue certification or if it will simply incorporate sustainable design strategies.

Early planning is the first of 5 critical steps for projects pursuing LEED Certification.  Once the initial goals and commitment are in place, the steps that follow include registering the project and completing all of the initial administrative work; the documentation and implementation stages which include the design, engineering and construction; reviews at the conclusion of the design stage as well as the construction phase; and then receiving the final score and certification.  Interspersed along this journey are appeals, credit interpretations, and other back-and-forth activities to demonstrate compliance and clarify any initial denial of credits or other requests for additional proof of achievement. The entire journey culminates in receipt of certification, including the plaque on the wall that is the physical representation of all the hard work and effort of countless people involved in every aspect of the project.

Throughout my personal experience leading many projects through the process, whether using the LEED v2, LEED v4.1 Rating System, and most recently the LEED v5 Rating System, this has been, at best, an arduous exercise and most often a complicated and time-consuming endeavor.  While the program is outlined in a clear and concise manner by both USGBC and GBCI, the focus is often on the benefits of sustainable design and achieving certification, and quite silent on the actual day to day efforts to satisfy their expectations. Currently, our design team is shepherding a large municipal complex project through construction and has submitted the design phase credits for scoring. After many months and multiple rounds of review, appeals, miscommunications with reviewers and more, we finally concluded the design review stage and received our scoring. Needless to say, it was a challenge.

Hamilton Township Municipal Complex

Benefits of LEED:

Sustainable design and planning have been the cornerstone of my entire professional career and extends back further to my days in college.  Like many, I was striving to design high performance healthy spaces before the rating systems, green-washing and advancement of environmentally-friendly technologies that have evolved in the past three decades.  I was able to tour LEED Pilot projects as the rating system was just emerging, which further strengthened my focus.

I do not believe the argument is whether or not there is a benefit to planning and designing sustainably; the debate is if there are tangible benefits that make it worthwhile to endure the certification process. While numbers can be analyzed in different ways and facts skewed to tell different sides of the same story, I believe there is a significant amount of evidence that presents a value for certification.

Many communities and markets have seen an increase in awareness related to health and wellness, as well as climate change and resilience. Several market sectors report an elevated demand for sustainably designed properties, and specifically LEED certified projects.  Corporate and commercial entities report that the plaque on the wall significantly increases property value, leading to higher sale prices and rental rates, lower vacancy, and stronger tenant demand. This is often in response to reduced operating costs, healthier indoor environments, and alignment with corporate sustainability goals, which make certified buildings attractive investments.

In 2022, a study conducted by Cushman and Wakefield showed that LEED-certified Class A office buildings are delivering increased value to investors. They analyzed LEED-certified office buildings delivered between 2010 and 2020 and found that compared to non-LEED counterparts, they were more profitable in terms of rent (achieving 11% higher during the most recent five years) and had reduced vacancy. Other metrics supporting the investment into certification include up to a 20% increase in sales price for Certified Buildings, increased productivity and reduced absenteeism, and the ability to stand out in otherwise crowded markets.

Thomas Jefferson University SEED Center

So, if so beneficial, why not Certify?

The path to LEED certification is not without pitfalls and aggravation.  When asked if an owner should seek LEED Certification (or other rating system – but that is a topic for another post), most architects and engineers will emphatically say ‘yes’.  But with each nod of the head in support of sustainable design, there is often a small voice inside their head that is warning them as they cringe – thinking about going through the process once again. And after acceptance, they may then have a ‘bright side’ conversation with themselves, thinking that this time things will be different….

The decision is most times not up to the professional at all.  We may be fortunate enough to be asked our opinion and hopefully are embedded with our clients as a trusted confidante that they rely on our guidance in such matters. But often times, the owner or developer has already decided if they will pursue certification. They may not certify due to the administrative demands and overall complexity of the process.  Other reasons can include a lack of perceived value in going through with the process, or perhaps they have other internal standards and guidelines that they feel are comparable. Sometimes, the biggest fight is simply convincing them to care enough to support our intention to plan, design and construct with sustainability in mind, regardless of their interest in certification.

Beyond the layers of the process and procedures, the conversation regarding cost and LEED Certification becomes murky at best. Most would tell you that it takes no additional effort to design towards LEED Certification, at least the lower levels of Certified and Silver, since those requirements often align with most current model building codes.  However, this demand is increasing as LEED V5 has been rolled out, requiring increased focus on resilience, electrification and carbon reduction. Scope elements that used to achieve credits or qualify for exemplary performance marks are now moving into the realm of prerequisites and generally expected performance.  The stakes are getting higher, LEED is maturing, and gone are the days that simple credit chasing can earn you a plaque.

Cost seems to be the most prominent reason that a building owner objects to pursuing certification. While every project is unique, and the costs will vary greatly depending on what design strategies are incorporated into a project and the targeted certification level, there are baseline figures to start with.  Registering a project can cost a couple thousand dollars, while the certification fees that include reviews and scoring can range in cost from a couple thousand dollars to more than twenty thousand dollars. There are added costs for appeals, the cost for the design professionals to manage administrative tasks these can range from $20K to $60K or more along with commissioning and additional testing. On top of all this is the potential for increased construction costs for higher performance materials and systems, and the integration of more complex technologies.

All together, a project of significant size could cost an additional $150,000 in soft costs and possibly a 2-4% increase in overall construction cost. These costs can be countered by the reduction in operating costs, the achievement of grants and credits for sustainable design, and improved outcomes in occupant health, but in the end, it is complicated math for most owners… 

The prevalence of ‘Designed to LEED’:

This strategy has become far more popular in recent years, where an entity acknowledges the value of sustainable design and planning (this in itself being a great victory), but is not convinced of the value in following through with certification. Our work spans many states throughout the country, and we have seen a myriad of new commitments and regulations regarding green building at both the local and state levels of government. Similarly, we are seeing colleges and universities, along with school district and property portfolio managers commit to energy reduction, carbon reduction, and sustainability.

We work with several notable public universities that have adopted ‘Design to LEED Silver’ standards. This approach represents a softer commitment than full certification, leaves a significant amount of room for interpretation, and can lack consistency and oversight. For some clients, simply filling out a scorecard at the start of a project is enough to show that you have “designed to LEED Silver” whether or not you ever revisit the scorecard or demonstrate any actual performance and compliance.

However, we have other clients that have adopted the true spirit of the LEED rating system; upholding the standards of the integrated design process, and the tracking of performance through construction and into occupancy. These clients see the value of green design, but not the value in going through the certification process whether due to cost, administrative commitment, or both.

Indian River State College William and Helen Thomas STEM Center

LEED and Higher Education:

Higher Education has been the core of my practice for the past 20+ years.  As Principal at Spiezle, my interest in this topic is focused on the impact and value of LEED for the colleges and universities that we work with and seek to support. Regardless of institution, our client ultimately is the individual student.

Despite the great debate going on across the country and across market sectors regarding the value of LEED, there seems to be a growing and consistent preference from college-seeking and college-attending students for sustainably designed and certified buildings and campuses, and LEED specifically.

Students are increasingly choosing colleges based on sustainability goals, with a significant majority (over 80% in some surveys) considering it to be an important factor in their decision about where to attend college. Additionally, it has been noted that sustainable design influences students’ initial searches, and can be a tie-breaker in the selection process, although academics and cost remain the main factors.

Students have a sophisticated and evolving understanding of the world around them. and sustainability is an important component of their daily lives. They seek genuine commitment on campus through organizations and clubs, inspiring curriculum, and opportunities for community involvement. Institutions that demonstrate true commitment and progress have a heavy advantage for recruitment and retention.

Additionally, students now more than ever before have a deeper understanding of the different rating systems and sustainability rankings. They use tools like STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System) to evaluate the performance and commitment level of their school. The importance of sustainability on college campuses is also reflected in creation of ranking systems like the ‘Green Colleges’ list, published by the Princeton Review since 2010, and The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which has been releasing their rankings since 2019 and aims to assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). The fact that major journals and organizations are actively ranking and promoting this data reinforces the importance of sustainability to younger generations.

Conclusion:

Much like beauty, the value of LEED Certification remains in the eye of the beholder. It is complicated, evolving, inspiring and aggravating.  The process demands commitment, creativity, understanding and patience. While there are arguments to be made on both sides of the subject, I strongly believe that simply engaging in dialogue and entertaining both viewpoints is a significant milestone and victory for sustainable design.  Regardless of what side of this debate you sit on, I encourage everyone to make environmental health and personal wellness the highest priority of your projects and to be mindful of the well-being of individuals with each design and planning decision you make.

Be Well.