LEED scoring a good benchmark

Updated 10:00 AM March 20, 2006

LEED scoring a good benchmark

By Diane Brown
Facilities and Operations

Achieving certification status for constructing high-performance, sustainable buildings can benefit the campus and community, but some of the trade-offs can be costly and not well-suited to campus, the head of U-M's physical plant told the regents March 17.

"In May 2005, the School of Natural Resources (SNRE) and Environment received a gold LEED rating for renovations of the Samuel Dana Building," said Hank Baier, associate vice president for facilities and operations. "This was the first major academic renovation to receive such a high rating in the state of Michigan and one of the first in the country."

LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard developed by members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in the early 1990s. As the USGBC Web site explains, LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. It emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"We use the LEED score sheet as one of several tools to assess each of our major construction projects," Baier said. "It can be a good guide for cost-effective energy and environmental performance. Most of our projects could have been certified if we paid our money and pursued formal certification from the USGBC."

LEED certification, however, can add to project costs. Baier estimated that achieving LEED could add 3-10 percent to construction costs for U-M buildings. Additionally, the documentation for the USGBC formal certification process can add another $100,000.

Project teams for the C.S. Mott Children's and Women's Hospital and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business have announced their intention to seek formal certification. The LEED system provides four levels of certification—certified, silver, gold and platinum. When SNRE received the gold rating in 2005, there were fewer than 300 projects that had received LEED certification and only 56 that had achieved the gold rating.

"In our construction planning, we have a set of priorities," Baier said. "We let the academic program drive what we build versus just using imposed criteria. Among our facility priorities are a focus on life-cycle costs, energy savings and cost-effective environmental performance. We also focus on controlling construction costs as well as ongoing operational expenditures. Some items that count toward LEED certification are not aligned with our priorities."

Construction project managers will continue to evaluate how the LEED scoring system changes and how it can be incorporated into future U-M projects, Baier noted. In addition, staff will continue to focus on energy reduction in existing buildings through outreach and educational awareness and partnering with the campus community.

LEED scoring a good benchmark

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