Best Policy Practices

Best Policy Practices
PromisE, LEED TM , BREEAM, CASBEE, Green Globes TM
United States
Who is who in the acronym soup of different
building rating systems? Some deal with sustainability,
others with the environment only.
To compare various systems: “Sustainable Building Ratings
Summary” (July 2006) by Fowler, K.M. and E.M. Rauch, completed
by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated
for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle, can be downloaded
at www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/COTEnotes%20fall
%2006%2022%20GSA%20Green%20Rating%20Systems.
pdf
LEED TM -Certification for buildings is best known in North
America, where the focus is still on “green building”, instead
of “sustainable construction”. A basic document “LEED – NC,
Green Building Rating System for New Construction and
Major Renovations, Version 2.2, 2005” can be downloaded at
www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1095
The U.S. Green Building Council describes the system on
its website www.usgbc.org/LEED/: “The Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating
System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
LEED gives building owners and operators the tools
they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on
their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building
approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in
five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable
site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials
selection, and indoor environmental quality.”
Other building rating systems are, among others,
BREEAM, CASBEE, Green Globes TM U.S. and SBTool. For
an overview, see www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/COTEnotes%
20fall%2006%2022%20GSA%20Green%20Rating%20Sy
stems.pdf
Last but not least, don’t miss the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI), see www.globalreporting.org/Home - in several
languages!
66