The market for sustainable design and construction is beginning to accelerate again after some uncertainty and confusion over the impact of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s Version 4 (v4) sustainability standards. Concerns about v4’s costs and compliance difficulty have caused a rush among clients to register their projects under LEED’s 2009 standards before Oct. 31, 2016, when USGBC halted LEED 2009 support.
Further, the prolonged run-up to the date when LEED v4 became mandatory has caused clients, design firms and contractors to explore other sustainable design and construction options. Many owners have found some of these alternatives to their liking and have greenlighted projects under them.