The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the launch of LEED for Retail, its newest green building rating system, and the LEED Volume Program, a program designed to meet the certification needs of high-volume property developers.
The two programs were unveiled at the USGBC’s 2010 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Chicago in November.
In a release announcing the two new programs, the USGBC says that the LEED for Retail rating system recognizes the design and construction needs of this market sector, enabling retailers to integrate green building design, construction and operation into ground-up construction, retail interior and build-out projects.
Nearly 100 national and independent retailers and franchisees have participated in the pilot program since its launch in 2007, providing feedback to inform the rating systems’ development.
“In today’s market, savvy retailers see the value in building, designing and constructing environments that enhance the customer experience, nurture a more productive employee base, while saving precious resources,” says Scot Horst, senior vice president of LEED, USGBC. “LEED for Retail builds on the strengths of other commercial LEED rating systems, while taking special care to address the distinct needs of retail spaces, from occupancy demands to waste streams, energy and water use.”
Also launched at the Greenbuild conference was the LEED Volume Program, a certification program designed to streamline and make the LEED certification process faster and more manageable for high-volume property developers such as national retailers, hospitality providers and local, state and federal governments.
“With Volume, we were able to streamline the LEED certification process and, by extension, even our own internal design and construction processes,” says Gina Edner, associate director of Environmental Sustainability for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a Volume Pilot participant. “We now have a comprehensive LEED roadmap.” More than 60 Starwood hotels across almost all nine brands are pursuing LEED certification.
The program was designed to be flexible, says USGBC, allowing owners to define the criteria for grouping similar buildings and the prototype LEED credits they plan to pursue. The Volume approach also facilitates bulk purchasing and advance ordering of materials, reduced consultancy requirements, more efficient internal processes, greater speed to market, and more precise documentation of corporate sustainability efforts.
USGBC says it will introduce Volume certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance in 2011.