LEED, Green Globes, and Living Building Challenge

With all of the "going green" initiatives that are underway in every aspect of our lives, there are three main programs that are pushing buildings to be more sustainable: LEED, Green Globes, and Living Building Challenge (LBC). While the goal of each of these programs is more sustainable buildings, they all use different approaches. In this SpecTopics post, we will be looking at some of the differences between these three programs.

LEED and Green Globes are the more conventional in terms of a building rating system, with each using a points-based system to determine the certification level that you can achieve with your building's design. Both LEED and Green Globes have four levels of certification that are determined by the number of points that you achieve based on their different scales.

LBC is different from the other two in the way that certifications are awarded. For LBC there are seven "petals", like those of a plant or flower, that are broken down into 20 imperatives. LBC does have three awards that you can achieve based on what path you take. The number of petals or imperatives determines the award that you can receive. LBC also has a Zero Carbon Certification and Zero Energy Certification.

All programs offer training to help architects and designers to understand what their programs are striving for:
LEED is looking to make the building better for the environment, community, and those who use the building.
Green Globes is working to make buildings more environmentally efficient based on commonly valued environmental outcomes.
LBC strives for buildings that have a positive environmental impact.

With this in mind, LEED and Green Globes are working on making buildings better than most that are designed currently, while LBC is trying to go beyond and promote buildings that have little to no negative impact on the environment. LEED's main points of focus are Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Material & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation, Regional Priority, and Integrative Process. Green Globes focuses on Project Management, Site Energy, Water, Materials & Resources, Emissions, and Indoor Environment. LBC focuses on Place, Water, Energy, Health + Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty.

Green Globes and LBC are better at verification and assessments of projects and what criteria they meet. LEED is working on improving these areas. For LEED, online submission forms are required, whereas Green Globes and LBC have on-site inspectors and auditors to verify that the building meets the required standards.

LEED has been the most popular green building program for most of the movement. LEED may be the most popular, but LBC is growing in popularity thanks to its forward-looking approach.

Contact Brian Emert at [email protected] with questions.