In response to the question I posed yesterday regarding the importance of LEED certification, reader Matt, who describes himself as a LEED accredited professional, offered a reasoned response. Matt acknowledges some of the flaws in the certification process but argues that there's still a place for USGBC because it ensures a level of quality control and looks at information that the average customer probably isn't willing to bother with.

The reason for LEED Certification, as with any certification, is that the average consumer is not aware and doesn't have the time to research every green component of a building. Therefore it's helpful that there is an outside agency requiring developers to add theses features. I would want an outside authority (i.e. the building department) to inspect an end product before I bought it to ensure a certain quality to the product. I would argue that LEED might not have their system right but that it greatly encourages strides in the right direction.

As, pointed out I do not think that LEED weighs all of the points accurately to portray the environmental impact of each of the points associated with the ranking system. However, if a building is LEED certified the consumer can be assured that certain hoops were jumped through. The USGBC should do a better job at weighing the environmental impacts on the points. I think more recent ranking systems such as the New Homes ranking system does a better job of this that others.

Read Matt's full comment here.

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