LEED Being Removed - GoA

[bodsbods9090]

Reddit busy today.

GoA saying they will remove the LEED requirement for new buildings.

How will this hurt/help the construction industry?

 

[IanO]

Not entirely unexpected to be honest. As a LEED AP (2008) it has been instrumental in pushing things forward into the mainstream, but is continues to be highly criticized for its method, cost, paperwork, and how genuine some of the credits and points are.

I would argue that while it still has value, it might be time to rethink building standards through code improvements, incentives, grants and the like.

Kinda a sad day if so, but perhaps time for change and evolution.

 

[Airboy]

A lot of Projects dropped the LEED requirements but did LEED shadowing. Same results with Less paperwork. Plus it hurt areas where you did not have access to a lot of products and services. The North is an Example. Most facilities I worked on would have easily Got the Credits if they were south of 60.

 

[kcantor]

^^
Not necessarily "a sad day".

It's not unlike the R2000 home program from the early 1980's that was pioneered by the CHBA and NRCAN. While the program still exists, for the past two decades or so, it is much different serving as a reference model to inform other programs rather than a certification program for individual homes.

The reason for the change is in fact the success of the program, rather than it's failure. Once building codes, designers, contractors and trades had learned and incorporated the necessary skills and techniques, what was once required for certification simply became standard practice making the costs of participation in a predominantly voluntary certification program redundant.

It's much like not needing a music critic to tell Oscar Peterson he was a great composer and musician.

 

[itom987]

Perhaps there will be updates in the NBC AE 2025 that will cover what LEED dealt with.

 

[Airboy]

LEED is a US based sustainability metric and their scoring systems can lead to bad decision making.

Many industry professionals have said for years that if we channeled the LEED costs into the building and measured metrics that make sense for both our environment and often remote locations within Alberta, there would be greater value.