USA Today study finds 'green' and 'LEED' building racket more about making money for 'non-profit' and others involved in handing out 'rewards' and tax breaks

10/24/12, "In U.S. building industry, is it too easy to be green?" USA Today, Thomas Franks

"A USA TODAY examination shows that thousands of "green" builders win tax breaks, exceed local restrictions and get expedited permitting under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps."

"Across the United States, the Green Building Council has helped thousands of developers win tax breaks and grants, charge higher rents, exceed local building restrictions and get expedited permitting by certifying them as "green" under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps that have little or no proven environmental benefit, a USA TODAY analysis has found.

The council has certified 13,500 commercial buildings in the U.S. as green and become one of the most influential forces in building design by helping persuade public officials and private builders to follow its rating system, known as LEED.

More than 200 states, cities and federal agencies now require LEED certification for new public buildings, even though they have done little independent and meaningful research into LEED's effectiveness. LEED can add millions to construction costs while promising to cut utility bills and other expenses.

Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington and roughly 85 other cities go an extra step and require some private commercial buildings to follow LEED. And nearly 200 jurisdictions give LEED builders tax breaks and other incentives....

USA TODAY conducted the first public analysis of the 7,100 LEED certification records posted on the council website and found that designers emphasize LEED points that can be won through simple purchasing decisions and shun labor-intensive options and cutting-edge technology.

The most popular LEED option — earned in 99.7% of the buildings — has no direct environmental benefit but generates millions of dollars for the building council by giving one point if a design team has a LEED expert. People become experts by passing a LEED course and paying $550 to $800 to a non-profit that the building council created in 2007.

The building council gets 5% of those fees — $3.3 million from 2008 through 2010, council tax records show. The council rewards the inclusion of LEED experts to encourage building designers to learn about LEED.

More than 90% of the buildings got points for using indoor paints, adhesives and flooring that aim to protect occupants' health by emitting fewer contaminants. Widely used, the materials add little cost or effort and have no impact outside the building....

Cheap points can add valuable tax breaks. In Las Vegas, the Palazzo scored just two points above the minimum needed for its $27 million tax break....

A little-noticed study of Navy buildings in January showed that four of 11 LEED-certified buildings used more energy than a non-LEED counterpart. Of the seven others, four were better than their counterparts by 9%, a level of improvement that is insufficient to earn any LEED points.

"Energy savings are not closely related to the number of points received," concluded the study by University of Wisconsin researchers.

LEED tries to address the problem by offering one point for buildings that measure actual energy use. Only 23% of the LEED-certified buildings have taken that option, USA TODAY found....

Government-fueled green

Governors, mayors, state legislators and federal administrators have been forceful LEED advocates who helped it flourish nationwide. About 26% of LEED-certified buildings are government-owned.

But officials have embraced LEED and similar standards "often without fully understanding their benefits, trade-offs and costs," says a 2009 study by the National Institute of Building Sciences, a research group that interviewed building officials, regulators and advocates.

The federal General Services Administration (GSA), which owns and leases space in 9,600 buildings, gave crucial support in 2003 when it began requiring LEED certification for its new and substantially renovated buildings. Every federal department now follows green building practices along with 35 states. Roughly 170 cities give LEED builders tax breaks, grants, expedited permitting or waivers allowing them to construct larger buildings than local law allows. Roughly 2,000 developments, buildings and homes have received $500 million in tax breaks nationwide, USA TODAY found....

Public LEED buildings typically cost taxpayers extra. In Ohio, LEED certification for new state-funded schools has added $131 million in construction costs since 2007. "Soft costs," such as fees to the building council and to LEED consultants, add about $150,000 to the price of a new federal building, the GSA estimates.

Governments seeking to justify LEED often rely on reports funded by the council or written by council leaders asserting long-term cost savings....

The GSA released its largest report on its green buildings in August 2011, which studied only 16 of the agency's roughly 40 buildings that were LEED-certified by the end of 2009. Seven LEED buildings were "not cooperative" in disclosing energy use, the report said. The report found 13 of the 16 LEED buildings used less energy than typical office buildings but acknowledged studying only "a small number of buildings."

The council has advocated for more research. Its strategic plan says the "lack of data on green building performance makes it difficult to address perceptions that green building is not cost-effective."

One researcher says the council tried to suppress a critical 2002 report by the federal National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that said some LEED points were too easily earned and that others had only marginal long-term benefit.

"USGBC wanted NIST to take it off line, not to publish it," recalled study author Greg Keolian, who is co-director of the University of Michigan's Center for Sustainable Systems."They didn't like the findings. They were concerned we were criticizing LEED." NIST published the report."...via Breitbart story, 1/26/13,  

"DC Tops List of Costly, Subsidized 'Green' Buildings," Capitol Confidential






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