A new coalition has been formed to battle strict LEED regulations against the use of certain materials. You may remember our previous blog about LEED’s: LEED Certification: Why It’s Important, and how it is becoming the standard for hundreds of new government and city buildings worldwide.
Recently, 27 building and construction associations formed the American High-Performance Buildings Coalition to support the development of sustainable building standards that will be based on scientific data. This stems from the U.S. Green Building Council’s movement to discourage the use of vinyl in construction.
The coalition, formed on July 18 in Annapolis, MD, comes as the General Services Administration is reviewing whether to continue using LEED as the green building standard for the federal government. Alternative green rating systems include the Green Globes and the Living Building Challenge systems.
Almost 60 members of Congress have sent letters to the GSA asking to reconsider the endorsement of LEED if they do not remove certain anti-chemical provisions. (See the original Plastic News article for additional information.)
The U.S. Green Building Council was started in 1998 and has been involved in over 7,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries. Certifications range from “Certified” to “Platinum”, and are awarded based on points from 5 categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality.
Taipei 101, also known as the Taipei World Financial Center is the worlds second tallest building, and was awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest award.
