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FROM THE EDITOR
We’re three short months from LEED 2009 ending its run as the most used rating system in LEED’s history. On Nov. 1, 2016, LEED v4 will be the only rating system under which the U.S. Green Building Council will accept new project registrations.
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It’s a good time not only to get familiar with the new rating system, but also to remember the importance of certification itself. Many skeptics wonder why you’d pay extra money to get a certification plaque on the wall. But many who have gone through the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB), as it was called in its first years of existence, or LEED for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EBOM), as it was called in LEED 2009, or LEED Building Operations + Maintenance (LEED O+M), as it is called in LEED v4, process say there are several reasons certification is worthwhile.
First, understand that the certification process itself is a little simpler than it was a few years ago. The calculations and submission documents can now be submitted online with LEED Online and USGBC has streamlined some of the calculations to make them easier.
The biggest reason for certification, say experts, is simply to verify your environmental strategies. Whether to the C-suite or potential tenants, having proof that you’re doing what you’re saying you’re doing can go a long way to raising the credibility of the facility management department.
Another reason is simply to codify facility management procedures. One LEED O+M expert notes that you’re doing many things in LEED O+M anyway, like green cleaning and energy metering, for instance. The only question is whether you’re doing it to LEED standards. So by using LEED as a guide and going through the certification process, you can standardize your FM operation. This is especially useful in large FM organizations, where everyone may not have been doing things the same way.
Finally, certification is a great framework for setting goals for continuous improvement. That’s because a LEED O+M certification requires a recertification a minimum of every five years, so FMs can now force themselves to set long-term goals and improve on where they stand at the time of certification.
As always, I’m interested to hear from you. What have you found to be the biggest benefits of LEED certification?
Cheers,
Greg Zimmerman, editor
HIGH-PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES
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