Oct 2010 , Vol. VI, No.1

New to LEED Version 3.0 Minimum Program Requirements:What are These and Why Should I be Concerned?

Builders and Contractors Exchange
Weekly Bulletin: 9 Oct 2010

New to leed version 3.0 minimum program requirements: what are these and why should I be concerned?
By: George Nicholos

LAW TIPS

U.S. Green Building Council Inc., (USGBC) recently rolled out version 3 of the Leadership and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. As of June 27, 2009 USGBC authorized the newly formed Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) to approve LEED certification under version 3.0 or LEED 2009 as it has become commonly known. LEED participants should be alerted to one of the most important fundamental changes in the latest version of the LEED rating system which is the inclusion of Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs). MPRs are basic global requirements that every project must comply with to be certified under the LEED rating system. 

Under the seven MPRs projects: (1) Must Comply with Environmental Laws, (2) Must be a Complete, Permanent Building or Space, (3) Must Use a Reasonable Site Boundary, (4) Must Comply with Minimum Floor Area Requirements, (5) Must Comply with Minimum Occupancy Rates, (6) Must Commit to Sharing Whole-Building Energy and Water Usage Data, and (7) Must Comply with a Minimum Building to Site Area Ratio. Compliance with LEED MPRs is important because according to GBCI, if non-compliance is discovered at any point a project risks losing its certification. In addition, where a project is found to be in non-compliance no registration or certification fees paid to GBCI will be refunded. Based on GBCI’s authority to revoke a project’s certification, it is critical that project participants thoroughly evaluate, document, and comply with all aspects of the MPRs. Without clear contractual limitations there is also an added danger of an unexpected allocation of liability in instances where projects that were intending to take advantage of, or were provided with state and local LEED driven incentives, are later no longer certifiable through non-compliance with the LEED MPRs.

Owners, Contractors, Subcontractors, Design Professionals and other LEED project participants are urged to clearly specify project LEED responsibilities and limitations in their contracts. LEED participants should avoid making any express promises regarding future performance of LEED projects or guarantee that the project will obtain and maintain a particular LEED certification. These measures are necessary to minimize a participant’s liability in the event that projected LEED results are ultimately not achieved.

Authored by attorneys, these articles are meant to bring awareness to these topics and are not intended to be used as legal advice. For more information, contact Bill Franczek at 757-446-8600. Visit www .vanblk.com, for our library of Construction Law Tips.  Suggestions for a topic? E-mail bfranczek@vanblk.com.