On March 7, 2016, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that it is increasing minimum energy performance standards for new projects registering for certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2009 rating system after April 7, 2016.

The USGBC developed LEED to promote sustainability through its certification programs. Introduced in the mid-1990s, LEED is now among the most widely recognized programs in the national and international green building community. LEED goes beyond the energy efficiency focus of ENERGY STAR to address a wide array of green building features.

After April 7, 2016, projects must earn a minimum of four points in energy performance credits. The LEED 2009 standards, modeling requirements, and methodologies are not changing, but the projects must earn additional points to achieve certification.

Projects subject to the four point mandatory minimum must demonstrate an 18% improvement in the proposed building performance rating for new buildings, or a 14% improvement in the proposed building performance rating for major renovations to an existing building, compared with the baseline building performance rating.

In another significant change, LEED released different minimum point requirements based on the type of project seeking certification. LEED recognizes the following categories:

The USGBC released the following documents highlighting the specific changes of the new requirements:

Current projects should apply for LEED certification before the April 7 deadline to receive consideration under the less stringent standards.

Project owners and their counsel applying for certification under the new standards should expect an increase in upfront costs. Counsel should review all contracts to determine the effect of these changes and the need for any contract amendments.

Project owners should also note that October 31, 2016 is the final day for applications for new projects under the LEED 2009 rating system.

For general information on green buildings and sustainable real estate, see Practice Notes: