LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is a voluntary, point-based system that emphasizes sustainable strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.
We have several projects that have achieved LEED certification including the award-winning design of the Century Engineering Corporate Headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the first LEED New Construction, Gold Certified “for profit” building in the state and winner of IFMA’s National Award for Sustainable Design.
HCM also has numerous other projects that are currently pursuing LEED certifications in various categories, and has worked on numerous projects that follow the LEED rating system checklist or incorporate sustainable practices but opted not to pursue certification.
HCM actively encourages and supports our staff to become LEED Accredited Professionals and offers in-house training for the LEED exam. Currently, over 65% of our professional team is LEED Accredited. Although, the USGBC created LEED, the Green Building Certification Institute is now the organization which is responsible for project certification and professional accreditation.
Baltimore City recently enacted a law requiring that all new building construction over 10,000 SF be built to LEED Silver standards or to the Baltimore City Green Building Standards. The Baltimore City Green Building Standards are still under development. While these standards are being developed it is recommended that developers set up a Preliminary Review Meeting with the City to discuss a specific approach to your project. Bronwyn Phillips is the point person at the City and can be reached at bronwyn.phillips@baltimorecity.gov. HCM is working with all of our clients with projects in the City to meet this requirement.
LEED 2009 is the newest version of the rating system. This system differs from former version of LEED for New Construction, (LEED Version 2.2) in that the point structure increases to a 100 point standard – points are distributed differently from previous versions to express the relative importance of the various strategies in gaining overall sustainability. In addition, regional credits have been introduced to reward projects which implement sustainable strategies which the USGBC has determined are important in specific regions of the country. Finally, Minimum Program Requirements have been introduced. The owner of a project must commit to complying with these requirements before the project can be LEED certified.
For more information about LEED and other sustainable practices, go to:
The United States Green Building Council
www.usgbc.org
The Baltimore Chapter of the United States Green Building Council
www.usgbcbaltimore.org
Green Building Certification Institute
www.gbci.org
Baltimore City Code, Chapter 37 - “Green Building” Requirements (see Page 112)
http://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/charterandcodes/Code/Art%2000%20-%20Bldg,%20Fire.pdf
City Notice / Frequently Asked Questions of Green Building Requirements
www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/sustainability/downloads/1108/111308_Sustainability_FAQ.pdf
City website, Department of Planning – Office of Sustainability
www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/sustainability/
Article by Stuart D. Kaplow, P.A. “Baltimore City Enacts Among the Strictest Mandatory Green Building Laws …” www.stuartkaplow.com/library3.cfm?article_id=140
