Member organizations of the U.S. Green Building Council on Nov. 14 approved its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2009, the update to the internationally recognized greenbuilding rating system.

The update, to be rolled out in stages next year, includes reweighing of credits and more emphasis on climate change and energy efficiency. LEED 2009 also incorporates regional credits, extra points that have been identified as priorities within a project’s given environmental zone. During the public comment period that ended on Sept. 2, the nonprofit USGBC received nearly 7,000 comments from among its 18,000 members.