Following Industry's LEED: Municipal Adoption of Private Green Building Standards
66 Pages Posted: 24 Jun 2009 Last revised: 15 Sep 2013
Date Written: June 23, 2009
Abstract
Local governments are beginning to require new, privately constructed and funded buildings to be “green” buildings. Instead of creating their own, locally-derived definitions of green buildings, many municipalities are adopting an existing private standard created by members of the building industry: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This Article explains and assesses the privately promulgated LEED standards. It argues that the translation of LEED standards, which were intended to be voluntary, into law raises several theoretical and practical problems. Specifically, private green building ordinances that rely on LEED do not ensure a reduction in the negative local environmental impacts of buildings, nor do they provide any assurance that those standards were created through a legitimate process. The Article concludes by offering an alternative approach, suggesting that municipalities should instead enact green building ordinances that have been promulgated by public governmental bodies, rather than private, industry-based organizations, and done so locally, taking into account specific local building-related and environmental concerns.
Keywords: Sustainable Development, green building, LEED, energy, building, municipal, land use, ordinance, zoning, legitimacy, efficacy
JEL Classification: K11, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation