GSA Accepting Public Comments for LEED v4
Following the overwhelming adoption of LEED v4, GSA initiated a review of v4 to stay current with the evolution of green building certification systems. Last fall, GSA released its review of LEED v4, showing that the newest version of our green building rating system is better aligned than ever with the federal sustainability requirements, and reaffirms LEED as a consensus standard. The report, Green Building Certification System: Supplemental Review of USGBC’S LEED v4 Systems, showed that while there isn’t direct alignment across every federal requirement, LEED v4 is well situated to help accelerate the federal sector’s uptake of the best and leading strategies in green building. The GSA needs to hear from you!
If you would like to read more about the GSA review process, then check out Bryan Howard's recent blog.
ATTENTION Georgia Residents: HB 255, LEED Exclusion Bill
HB 255 will exclude the use of LEED for state building,
because the timber industry lobbyists have wrongly characterized LEED’s
commitment to local, Georgia forestry products. As you probably know, the use
of locally-harvested wood as a building material is among the most highly
incentivized strategies in LEED. Georgia forest products of any stripe
(SFI, ATFS, FSC, no certification…) are eligible contribute to greater than 10%
of all possible points in the rating system.
Please help us tell the real story of how important Georgia
forest products are to LEED projects in the state.
The bill will be heard in the State Properties committee on
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4th at 2PM-3PM. You can
help in two ways:
1) Contact the
State Properties committee and let them know LEED is an important tool for state buildings. Click HERE to send a message.
2) Show up on
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4th at 2PM-3PM in room 403 of the Capitol to testify against
bill 255. Suzanne
Haerther, suzanne@haerther.com will
be your point of contact for the day of the committee hearing. Please let her
know if you will be attending the committee hearing.
Regional Committee Conferences
The Heartland Regional Committee and the Southeast Regional Committee are hosting leadership and learning conferences in March. Christina from the Advocacy team will be there training chapter leaders and volunteers on best practices for advocacy. Check out the event sites for Gear Up! and Heartland Regional Committee Leadership Summit for more information. Hope we see you there!
