Representatives of a new green building coalition told lawmakers this week that the federal government is creating a monopoly by using a third-party green building rating system.

The General Services Administration's use of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, "effectively creates a monopoly for federal buildings," said Steven Russell, vice president of the plastics division at the American Chemistry Council. Russell testified at a July 19 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform examining the effect of regulations on business.

The ACC and others in the building industry on July 18 announced the formation of a coalition intended to promote development of green building ratings systems. The group is called the American High-Performance Buildings Coalition. The National Association of Home Builders, a coalition member, has its own green building rating system called the National Green Building Standard.

"There are other standards that…should see the light of day," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of NAHB said at the hearing. Russell asked the committee to urge GSA to select a set of criteria for federal green buildings and accept any standard that meets the criteria.

GSA is currently evaluating its use of green building rating systems and is slated to make a decision this fall about whether to continue using LEED.

USGBC support GSA's review of its use of rating systems, according to Lane Burt, technical policy director for USGBC. "We're happy to take the Pepsi challenge and compete with anyone," he said.

The vast majority of LEED participants are in the private sector. Approximately 6 percent of LEED certified buildings are federal buildings, according to Burt.

Controversy over LEED Upgrade

ACC and NAHB are also objecting to proposed revisions to LEED.

The next version of LEED, called LEED v4, is expected to come out next year. It will be LEED's fifth iteration, which has been an evolving standard since its launch in 2000.

The proposed revisions include two new credits: one for disclosing ingredients of building materials and one for avoiding chemicals of concern. Russell said the new credits are designed to discourage the use of certain materials, such as foam insulation or vinyl roofing.

Howard Williams, vice president and general manager of Construction Specialties, a building product manufacturer, said the proposed upgrade does not rule out the use of any building product. The two proposed credits deal with the chemistry of building materials, and a project does not require the credits to receive LEED certification, he said, speaking at the July 19 hearing.

USGBC emphasizes that the credits, still not finalized, are designed to be protective of human health.

For the next version of LEED to be approved, the organization needs votes from a supermajority, or two-thirds, of voting members. LEED v4 also needs approval from at least 50 percent of each of three groups: producers, such as builders and contractors; users, such as building owners and managers; and general interest groups, such as environmental nonprofits.

"It's not possible for a controversial version of LEED to become real," Burt said. "We have to settle on something that is going to be overwhelmingly supported by the green building industry."

Burt called the actions taken by ACC and others "a politicization of the technical development process." He said he is surprised that the discussion has reached Congress. "In every credit there is a debate. In only one credit is there a political controversy."