Public Architects Committee

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Public Architects Committee and Committee on the Environment .
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A recent article from the Federal Times for your information:

Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED standard
by Andy Medici

"The General Services Administration should stop using the LEED rating system to grade how green its buildings are, 56 House lawmakers from both parties said in a May 18 letter to GSA's acting administrator Dan Tangherlini.

The lawmakers said the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, run by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is adopting standards that unfairly hurt certain manufacturers of building materials.

GSA primarily uses the LEED system, which scores how green a building is based on everything from construction materials to its proximity to mass transit, as a benchmark for all of its construction projects.

Buildings can be LEED certified or achieve even higher degrees of "greenness" at the LEED Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. GSA has made it a goal to make all of its new construction LEED Gold certified.

At issue are rules slated to take effect July 1 that offers building owners LEED credit for avoiding a list of "chemicals of concern." The lawmakers said in the letter that the restrictions are arbitrary and would require agencies to use more costly materials in construction projects."

Read more: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20120522/FACILITIES02/205220301/1001 


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Ann Harris
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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Every time LEED goes through a public comment the PVC lobby pushes against efforts to acknowledge the high toxicity of the PVC manufacturing process and its serious hazards to emergency responders in the event of fire.  This kind of political pressure to undermine the process is business as usual!  The fact is that LEED relies on the EPA TRACI protocol in terms of how it develops the rating system credits.  When lawmakers rely on corporations for campaign financing they often forget the work that is endorsed by scientists in government agencies whose job it is to protect the public health.  The fact of the matter is that the EPA does not have the political clout to mandate what LEED sets as a high standard of practice, and the GSA is using LEED as a tool to align itself with EPA goals.

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Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham AIA
Senior Facilities Planner
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA
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Show Original Message -------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-23-2012 16:07
From: Ann Harris
Subject: Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Public Architects Committee and Committee on the Environment .
-------------------------------------------
A recent article from the Federal Times for your information:

Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED standard
by Andy Medici

"The General Services Administration should stop using the LEED rating system to grade how green its buildings are, 56 House lawmakers from both parties said in a May 18 letter to GSA's acting administrator Dan Tangherlini.

The lawmakers said the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, run by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is adopting standards that unfairly hurt certain manufacturers of building materials.

GSA primarily uses the LEED system, which scores how green a building is based on everything from construction materials to its proximity to mass transit, as a benchmark for all of its construction projects.

Buildings can be LEED certified or achieve even higher degrees of "greenness" at the LEED Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. GSA has made it a goal to make all of its new construction LEED Gold certified.

At issue are rules slated to take effect July 1 that offers building owners LEED credit for avoiding a list of "chemicals of concern." The lawmakers said in the letter that the restrictions are arbitrary and would require agencies to use more costly materials in construction projects."

Read more: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20120522/FACILITIES02/205220301/1001 


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Ann Harris
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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Hi all,

It was brought to my attention that the title of this discussion thread is misleading and I apologize. I made a copy & pasting error (oh no!) and I've since updated the title of the post. Hopefully it now accurately reflects that it was not my own opinion or a statement of fact, but merely the title of an article. 

Thank you to those who sent messages to me! Despite the obvious embarrassment of my error, I'm glad to see my editing mistake has architects engaging online and making their opinions known. Architects and LEED professionals can champion the issue once again on a national scale.

*Note: Remember to click "Reply to Discussion" instead of "Reply to Sender" to post a comment for the entire group. I've enjoyed your responses to this article, but I'm sure you meant them for the larger group and not for my eyes only :) 

Thanks again!
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Ann Harris
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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Show Original Message -------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-24-2012 09:41
From: Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham
Subject: Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED


Every time LEED goes through a public comment the PVC lobby pushes against efforts to acknowledge the high toxicity of the PVC manufacturing process and its serious hazards to emergency responders in the event of fire.  This kind of political pressure to undermine the process is business as usual!  The fact is that LEED relies on the EPA TRACI protocol in terms of how it develops the rating system credits.  When lawmakers rely on corporations for campaign financing they often forget the work that is endorsed by scientists in government agencies whose job it is to protect the public health.  The fact of the matter is that the EPA does not have the political clout to mandate what LEED sets as a high standard of practice, and the GSA is using LEED as a tool to align itself with EPA goals.

-------------------------------------------
Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham AIA
Senior Facilities Planner
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA
-------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-23-2012 16:07
From: Ann Harris
Subject: Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Public Architects Committee and Committee on the Environment .
-------------------------------------------
A recent article from the Federal Times for your information:

Lawmakers press GSA to abandon LEED standard
by Andy Medici

"The General Services Administration should stop using the LEED rating system to grade how green its buildings are, 56 House lawmakers from both parties said in a May 18 letter to GSA's acting administrator Dan Tangherlini.

The lawmakers said the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, run by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is adopting standards that unfairly hurt certain manufacturers of building materials.

GSA primarily uses the LEED system, which scores how green a building is based on everything from construction materials to its proximity to mass transit, as a benchmark for all of its construction projects.

Buildings can be LEED certified or achieve even higher degrees of "greenness" at the LEED Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. GSA has made it a goal to make all of its new construction LEED Gold certified.

At issue are rules slated to take effect July 1 that offers building owners LEED credit for avoiding a list of "chemicals of concern." The lawmakers said in the letter that the restrictions are arbitrary and would require agencies to use more costly materials in construction projects."

Read more: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20120522/FACILITIES02/205220301/1001 


-------------------------------------------
Ann Harris
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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