Green Building Certifications Demystified

Are you confused about which building certification program is best for your organization, or uncertain you can even get your space or facility certified? You are not alone. Since the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) first released the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating standard 20 years ago, the list of available building certifications has exploded, creating a confusing landscape of acronyms…LEED, WELL, SITES, LBC offered by another batch of similarly acronymed organizations, USGBC, IWBI, ILFI…

To make things even more confusing, just under LEED alone, there are dozens of options: Hospitality, Warehouses, Data Centers, Homes, Mid-Rise Multifamily, Interiors, Campus, etc…

Even to design and construction professionals, it can be a challenge to keep up with all of the different building certification options.

Big Picture

Let’s begin with a basic understanding of a building rating system. A rating system is the framework for a certification of a building or space that has been designed and built to, or is operating according to, specific green or occupant health criteria. There is usually a scorecard wherein points are earned, and there are different levels of certification available.

There are literally dozens of options these days, and depending on where you are located, there could be other local or statewide options if in the U.S., and other options internationally.

In addition to green building standards, there is now another sector of building certification focused on health and well-being. While green building certifications usually include a section on healthy indoor environment, these certifications zero in on that category and expand it to include a much broader range of occupant well being design / construction and operational best practices.

Compounding the confusion, each rating system has a name, and then the organization that developed that system has another name, and in some cases, there is another organization that administers it.

For example, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), administered by the Green Business Certification Institute (GBCI). Fitwel was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. General Services Administration, but is now operated by the Center for Active Design.

Below is a list that is by no means complete, but includes some of the more common rating systems along with the various organizations that created and administer them.

Table 1: Common Certification Programs and Associated Organizations

What Can Be Certified

What actually can be certified…a building, an interior space, a landscape that has no buildings?

The scope of certification has been a moving target over the years as rating systems expand and come online. Today, there is likely a standard of some kind available to most new and existing projects of any size and scope.

The first item to understand is the general scope of a project. The rating system world has generally adopted the term “typology” to identify different types of projects. Table 2 below outlines a few of the more common building standards and their applicability to different typologies.

Table 2: Common Certification Programs and Typologies

Whole Building vs Interior Spaces

Initially green building standards were applicable to construction of new buildings only. However, it quickly became apparent that this limited the options for many organizations occupying only a portion of a building. Most standards such as LEED, WELL, and Living Building now provide options for certifying only a space within a building, without the parent building needing to be certified, and conversely an option for developers to certify a shell building without the finalized tenant spaces included.

Building vs Site, Landscape, and Beyond

There is now a demand to apply environmental standards beyond buildings. Real estate developers and planners realized it made a lot of sense to be thinking about sustainability at much larger scales like a neighborhood or a community. This has manifested in everything from standards for landscapes, parks, neighborhoods, and even whole towns or cities.

New Construction vs Existing Buildings

Over the years, it became abundantly clear that in addition to new construction, our existing building stock was a huge opportunity to optimize resource efficiency and implement sustainable policies. Most standards provide options now for existing buildings, and that also includes, as noted above, existing interior spaces within buildings. This can include renovations to existing buildings or spaces, as well as more operational based certifications such as LEED O+M: Building Operations and Maintenance.

Residential vs Commercial

While large commercial projects often receive flashy green building headlines, residential standards have been available since the very beginning. There are many options for residential certifications, ranging from small single family all the way up to large multifamily buildings and developments. Note as well, there are mixed use options across most of the certifications that allow for larger development projects that contain combinations of office, commercial / retail, and residential.

Limiting Assumptions About Certification

As one can see, there can be a lot of confusion about what options are available for certification, especially as this industry is constantly evolving. Below are some common limiting assumptions.

• My project is not a whole building, but just an interior space within a building. → Spaces within buildings can be certified, regardless of the base building.
• I need to actually own my building or space to get certified (i.e. not lease). → Tenants under a lease can certify their building or space.
• My project is too small to be certified. → Very small projects can be certified (e.g. LEED allows buildings a small as 1,000 sf to be certified).
• My project is not new construction, but an existing building / space. → Existing building and spaces can be certified.
• My project is not a building, but rather a park or landscape or site. → There are standards available for a wide range of projects beyond the building scale such as parks, landscapes, preserves, sites, etc.
• My project is residential, and only commercial projects are certified. → Residential options are offered across the spectrum.
• My project is not an office space (e.g is a warehouse, datacenter, school) and doesn’t fit the criteria. → Standards have acknowledged the nuances of building types and provide a lot of flexibility across a wide range of uses. Many even have industry specific rating systems.
• Certification is too hard / expensive. Sustainability offers a spectrum of commitment and cost. → There are many options in level of difficulty and price point, and even within standards there are different certification levels to pursue.
• We don’t want to be THAT green. → As noted above, there are many options for shades of “green,” both within a standard and within the broader marketplace. There are even ways to find a middle ground between doing nothing and actual certification.
• We want to be way greener than THAT. → In addition to the highest level of certification within a rating system, there are different ranges of programs available, and now even options such as Net Zero, Regenerative Design, and Resilient Design.
• My project is not in the US. → Many organizations certify worldwide and have evolved to include language for international projects. In addition, there are often organizations within other countries (e.g. India Green Building Council) that provide further options.
• I am already getting certified in another program. → One project can receive multiple certifications. For example, the Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh, PA is LEED, Living Building Challenge, and WELL certified.

Making the Best Decision

If you are not familiar with Analysis Paralysis, New York Times writer Alina Tugend sums it up nicely:

“Although it has long been the common wisdom in our country that there is no such thing as too many choices, as psychologists and economists study the issue, they are concluding that an overload of options may actually paralyze people or push them into decisions that are against their own best interest.”

While it is important to have a general understanding of what is available, there are so many variables and options that it is likely a challenge for the average real estate developer or business owner to keep pace. To complicate matters, standards are in a constant state of evolution (a good thing as standards are improving and expanding), being clarified, updated, and even totally replaced by new versions.

Most of us consult with accountants or attorneys to guide us on the latest tax codes and legal developments. The building certification marketplace has reached a point where it is similarly complex enough that most people would not have the time to keep abreast of the latest developments, and it most likely makes sense to engage a professional to ensure making the right choice for their organization.

Each project is unique, as well as the goals and interests of each owner. What may seem a huge leap to one organization, may already be standard practice to another. Professionals can help businesses determine what programs are not only available and applicable to their project, but also what path makes the most sense for their overall mission and budget.