Third-Party Certification Requirements

• Author: Kerrigan Owens
• Pages: 176-179

176 Sustainable Development Code: Climate Change

THIR D-PARTY

CERTIFICATION

REQU IRE MEN TS

Kerrigan Owens (author)

Jonathan Rosenbloom & Christopher Duerksen (editors)

INTRODUCTION

ere are several third-part y certication programs for buildings. Each pro-

gram measures dierent, but often overlapping, aspects relevant to build-

ing sustainably. Several of the programs include Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED), the Living Building Challenge, and Green

Globes.1 Each program establishes criteria that must be met before getting

certied at several dierent levels.2 LEED, for example, oers certication

for buildings as Certied, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and Living Building

Challenge oers certi cation for buildings as Living Building Certication,

Petal Certic ation, and Zero Energy Cer tication.3 For each level of certi-

cation, the building must accumulate a certain number of points or meet

other criteria to move to the next bracket.4 Criteria may cover issues such

as stormwater management, energy eciency, or storage and collection of

recyclables.5

In enacting these ordina nces, local governments have a variety of options.

ey may make third-party certication a requirement or provide incentives

to developers that achieve a certai n level of certication. ey may also adopt

a carrot/stick approach by requiring a certain lower level of third-party certi-

cation, while also creating incentives to developers achieving a higher level.

In addition, in drafting t hese ordinances local governments may select a vari-

ety of building sizes a nd types that are subject to the third-part y certication

requirements and when those buildings are subject to the requirements, such

as upon sale, upon major renovation, or upon new construction.

EFFECTS

Buildings in the U.S. contributed to 13% of total water consumption and

38.9% of total carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, those buildings used

38.9% of total energy cons umption.6 Any ordinance incorporat ing thi rd-