USGBC will recognize energy and water standards for the Living Building Challenge

The U.S. Green Building Council will now recognize energy and water requirements from the Living Building Challenge within the LEED green building program.

This move means that projects achieving the energy and water requirements in Living Building Challenge will be considered as technically equivalent to LEED.

“The Challenge plays an important role on the green building performance curve and is a complement to LEED,” said Scot Horst, chief product officer, USGBC. “The LEED steering committee approved this approach. In the world of rating systems there is a sense of competition between systems, and what we’re saying is that what matters is that people are doing good environmental work. We want to focus on them and create harmonization between systems.”

USGBC took a similar step in 2012, when it said it would recognize energy credits from Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) International, the United Kingdom’s green-building rating program, in applications for LEED certification.