Weigh in on LEED 2012

This is your moment to make yourself heard--or, at least, the first of many in the next 18 months or so.

Drafts of the next versions of LEED--NC, CI, EBOM, Homes, ND--are available for your review and comment through January 14. The second public comment period opens July 1 offering plenty of opportunities to directly input into the development of LEED. We all love to complain about the rating systems but few take advantage of USGBC's fundamental process of inclusion into the content of its products.

Check out Environmental Building News for a thorough review of the proposed changes. Here's their quick summary of LEED-NC.

"While LEED 2009 has 49 credits and 9 prerequisites, the new LEED draft has 49 credits and 15 prerequisites. They are organized into 10 credit categories--up from 7 for LEED 2009. Structurally, the biggest changes are:

- The rating system begins with a new "Integrated Process" category

- A new Location and Transportation category collects location-related credits from LEED-NC with others from LEED for Neighborhood Developments

- At the end of the rating system, a new "Performance" category includes the commissioning credits (moved from Energy and Atmosphere) along with a handful of new measurement and reporting prerequisites and credits."

The new LEED-CI checklist shows similar changes, the most notable being the reduction of Sustainable Sites to just one credit with the current others mostly relocated to Location and Transportation.

Materials and Resources now proposes to have two additional prerequisites: minimum recycled content and construction and demolition waste management. In the IEQ category, the Construction IAQ Management Plan, During Construction credit has moved to a prerequisite. The addition of Integrated Process and Performance categories are wise, I think.

Do you agree? The next version of LEED, for now known as LEED 2012, is based, according to USGBC, on market, and stakeholder feedback. That means you. Speak now or no whining.