A friend in the construction industry recently forwarded this link. He decried the author’s suggestion that “LEEDigation” (disputes arising over L.E.E.D.® green building certification) was an emerging trend. I presume he did not like this idea because of the involvement of attorneys. (We are still friends).
Underlying his complaint, was an important question: is L.E.E.D® certification a growing trend? Answering this question proved more complicated than I anticipated. The above referenced blogger at Treehugger.com suggests that the number of L.E.E.D.® certified projects has declined in the past year. His opinion is that much of the decline is from the slowed economy, but he also points to a strong industry reaction against L.E.E.D.® certification, including a recent class action lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) claims of LEED’s benefits are substantially overstated. You may view the lawsuit here.
This lawsuit alleges that USGBC seeks through false and inflated claims to monopolize energy efficient construction certification by making L.E.E.D.® the industry standard. The Complaint reads like an indictment. Of course, the jury will ultimately decide. This Complaint, however, makes it clear that L.E.E.D.® has yet to achieve market dominance, and may fall victim to its own allegedly inflated claims. Finally, to address my friend’s complaint, there is no doubt that whether L.E.E.D.® or another standard achieves market dominance, litigation about compliance with that standard will certainly follow in direct proportion to that standard’s market penetration.
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