“When USGBC launched LEED v4 last year, we set out with one goal in mind — to raise the bar in a way that challenges the building industry to reach higher than ever before. This is our nature and USGBC and its members’ collective mission,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “However, the market has requested additional time to prepare for LEED v4, so we are responding.”

In a survey conducted at the 2014 Greenbuild conference, 61 percent of respondents said they are “not ready” or “unsure if they are ready” to pursue LEED v4 and require additional time to prepare. Extending LEED 2009’s availability enables USGBC to work with the broader industry within a longer time frame to drive meaningful and comprehensive change.

“LEED v4 wasn’t designed to be easy. It is the next generation of green building, and we are confident the market will meet us there, as they have in years past,” added Fedrizzi. “When USGBC first pilot tested LEED in 1998, there weren’t many buildings that could qualify for LEED certification at the Platinum level. Now, more than 1,000 buildings have achieved it. With LEED, we have a responsibility to set a high bar and we know that many leaders are capable of reaching it now or in the very near future. We want to support our LEED users as they move the market forward with us, and allowing them to utilize the LEED 2009 rating system for a little longer will help facilitate that.”

Publication date: 12/1/2014 

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