Green Concepts and Vocabulary 33

Architects, designers, property developers, contractors, and other stake-

holders must have a clear understanding of the different certification
programs that are currently available, and why certification is a neces-
sary requirement if property owners want to remain competitive in an
increasingly green market. Certification implies independent verification
that a building has met accepted guidelines in these areas, as outlined, for
example, in the LEED Green Building Rating System. LEED certification
of a project has become a recognized testimonial to its quality and environ-
mental stewardship, especially since the LEED green building rating system
has become widely accepted by public and private owners—not only in
the United States but in many countries around the world and continues
to increase in popularity.
Due to the major inroads into the mainstream design and construction
industry by the LEED rating system, contractors and property developers
are realizing that it is in their best interest to contribute toward a proj-
ect’s success in achieving green objectives. This is not difficult to achieve
once the LEED process is understood and its specific role in achieving
LEED credits, followed by through early involvement (preferably from the
planning phase) and participation throughout the various project phases by
implementing a team approach in an integrated design process. The appli-
cation of measureable benchmarks is necessary to enable verification and
confirm a building’s satisfactory performance. One must point out here that
ASHRAE puts the responsibility of defining design intent requirements
squarely on the shoulders of the project owner. Normally, in the practice of
architecture and engineering for building design, the owner hires an archi-
tect and/or engineer to develop the design intent in the design phase of
the project. But to do this, it is imperative to have in place all information
necessary to accomplish the design intent. Otherwise, it would be difficult
if not impossible to correctly measure a building or project’s performance
without the necessary information being made available regarding the cri-
teria upon which the project’s design and execution was based.This requires
that a project’s plans and specifications, etc. are prepared in a manner that can
provide measurable results, without which it would not be possible to make
a meaningful or credible evaluation of a project to determine if it has met
the specified objectives and original design intent of the owner. Likewise,
before measureable sustainable criteria can be established, it is necessary
to first agree precisely what is understood by “green construction” and to
clearly articulate specifically what the finished product is to consist of. This
is why in many building construction projects, points of dispute arise due to
these misunderstandings of how a building, product, or system, is evaluated