So far, the way that an owner and contractor team decides to build a “green” building has been fairly standard. But that may change. Historically, the most successful green initiatives were those driven by tax abatements and credits, expedited permitting, density incentives, utility credits and other incentives. The majority of these came through the U.S. Green Building Council rating system for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In this voluntary framework, the project is ultimately evaluated by the benefits weighed against the costs for achieving those benefits. Under these circumstances, the responsibility of a general contractor was detailed by the