The sustainable design process involves an active effort by all members of the design and construction teams. Most importantly, it is crucial that the owner is on board with the LEED project. Unfortunately many times (for obvious reasons) the Architects or Engineers are more familiar with the US Green Building Council and LEED certification system than an owner.

The green movement in the A/E industry is vastly different than the green movement that permeates the rest of society, from recycled aluminum foil to green cleaning products. If an owner is already on board with sustainable design and 'going green', it's an easy sell. But for firms that want to build their sustainable design profile, convincing an owner with a limited budget or no interest in LEED Certification can be a tricky thing.

Clearly it is the job of LEED professionals to provide clients with the best possible design, whether or not a project is pursuing LEED Certification, Energy Star, Green Globes, or any other certifiable design goal. It's never a consultant's job to convince an owner to do something that isn't in their best interest. So it's vital for consultants to spend time demonstrating the value of LEED to an owner.

For the owner that sees a value in LEED and sustainable building, the next step is to ensure that the Certification level goal complements and improves the original scope of the project. For an owner who isn’t driving the LEED process, it’s not prudent to pursue credits for credits sake. We all know that some credits are better suited to some projects than others.

Even after you've gotten the owner interested, the LEED consultation process is still far from over. Sustainable design takes a holistic approach on everyone’s part to see a LEED project come to full fruition. You need to incorporate all necessary design principles of the particular rating system. Specifications, drawings, details, schedules all have to be meticulously reviewed by someone with knowledge of LEED.

Ideally everyone on the team will have prior experience, not just with LEED Registered projects, but Certified jobs as well. But oftentimes this isn’t the case. For these jobs it’s especially important to have someone acting as LEED Consultant. In many cases this is the Architect’s role, due to the fact that they’re managing the project from the beginning of schematic design (the best time to fill out a LEED credit checklist too).

But no matter who the main project LEED person is, it’s important for them to keep the ball rolling, so to speak, and motivate the team. A LEED Coordinator can’t be expected to earn the building’s certification alone. It takes a sustained effort by everyone on the team – owner, architect, engineers, contractors, commissioning agents, and subs to ensure a project meets the design intent and goals of the LEED rating system.

Source:
Sarah Gudeman, LEED AP
Morrissey Engineering, Inc.