Radiant Cities: LEEDwashing

Are developers making mis-LEED-ing claims? 8

You know those words you’re sick of, the little bits of lexicon used and abused so frequently that they’ve been drained of meaning: green, natural, eco-friendly? Well, now you can add the word “LEED” to the list.

That’s right, the world’s most ubiquitous green-building term is becoming a mot de greenwashing. Increasingly, companies and developers are using “LEED” to describe buildings that haven’t been certified by the program. Heck, the buildings might not even be that green (or natural or eco-friendly, for that matter).

Piedmont Park Garage.The Piedmont deck: LEED claims are the least of critics’ complaintsUrban Hiking AtlantaTake, for instance, the highly controversial parking garage plopped in the middle of Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. Conceived and championed by the Piedmont Park Conservancy and the Atlanta Botanical Garden as a way to raise funds and provide parking space for folks attending the park’s special events (like the upcoming “Green Concert” starring Sir Paul McCartney), this “built to LEED standards” structure has been largely derided by neighborhood groups, including Friends of Piedmont Park (FOPP), as being a decidedly improper use of park space.

“We’re upset about the conversion of more public green space to cement and concrete,” says Jack White, a FOPP board member. The six-and-a-half story parking deck holds 765 spaces and charges up to $15 per day, and required the creation of new roads bisecting the park. No amount of neighborhood opposition could stop it; in fact, the Conservancy and Garden are suing FOPP’s leader, Doug Abramson, for the legal fees accrued in toppling FOPP’s objections, some $273,000.

But the pro-parking deck forces point to its green attributes, and even named it “SAGE”—for Safety Access Greenspace and Expansion. Per the Conservancy’s website, the garage was built to LEED standards, with shaded areas for cars to reduce heat island effect; increased access to the park for visitors; a “virtually invisible” structure within several years, when the potted trees finally blossom; special parking spots for hybrids and such; a top-level bike rack; and rainwater capture to irrigate the gardens. 

Hm. Other than the last two ingredients, pretty much none of its touted green factors are particularly green, nor are they part of the LEED system. In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council has no record of the SAGE parking facility—it was neither registered (the first step toward certification) nor certified. And a parking garage isn’t eligible for LEED certification—a building, says Scot Horst, senior vice president of LEED, must have at least one resident to even be considered.

Foes of the parking deck weren’t mollified by the LEED claims—“Putting trees in pots on a concrete monstrosity didn’t transform the essential nature of the beast,” says White—but the even more troubling thing, at least to the folks who oversee LEED, is the misuse of their carefully crafted system. LEED has endured a lot of criticism in its 13-year history—for being too complex, not accounting for regional differences, costing too much to achieve, etc.—and has responded with a user-friendlier version, dubbed LEED 3.0, this year. But, says Horst, if a project isn’t officially certified, “you have no idea what [developers] mean” when they use the term. (The Piedmont conservancy did not return email requests for comment.)

The Atlanta garage is not the only example of such LEEDwashing; take the new KFC/Taco Bell in super-crunchy Northampton, Mass. The USGBC also says it has no record of such a building being certified*, though a press release detailed its LEED elements: 30 percent energy and water use reduction, rainwater capture, solar panels. Harvested rainwater or not, the building’s function as a purveyor of industrial food does plenty of climate harm, not to mention its drive-thru window. Who knew LEED would grow to be a tool of architectural irony?

Still, says Horst, even a falsely claimed LEED building might be an improvement over business as usual; surely the Northampton KFC bests its non LEED-inspired counterparts. “At what point is being better good enough?” he asks. Horst can’t say for sure, but he does know this: “Saying I’m an Olympic athlete doesn’t make me one if I’m not in the Olympics. And no building is LEED unless we say it is.”

*CORRECTION: The USGBC contacted the reporter after publication to report that its records had not been updated when an interview for this story occurred earlier in the week, and that the Northampton KFC in fact achieved gold certification.

UPDATE: The USGBC has written to tell us that they made a mistake, and the KFC/Taco Bell is indeed certified gold. But there are plenty of projects throwing the term around incorrectly—like this Chicago high-rise, which advertised itself as LEED-certified before it was even built; here are even more examples of companies including Best Western and Chrysler jumping the LEED gun. “Overzealous marketing teams sometime claim that projects are certified when they’ve only just registered with LEED,” Horst says. “USGBC publishes detailed guidelines to help projects make the right decisions about their marketing, and we follow up on each and every report of misuse.”

Lisa Selin Davis’s articles on architecture, real estate, and the environment, among other topics, have appeared in The New York Times, Salon.com, OnEarth, and many other publications. She’s the author of the novel Belly and lives in Brooklyn, NY

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  1. Green4Life Posted 2:07 pm
    01 Jul 2009

    I have noticed this trend of "LEEDwashing" as well, and, unfortunately, I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon. With the growing popularity of all things "green," businesses are doing anything they can to make a few extra dollars even at the expense of the consumers. Should we just let these fakes continue labeling themselves as LEED certified or should someone do something about it? These fakes are at least trying to be Eco-friendly which is better than nothing I suppose, but still, it leaves the consumers wondering "Who can I trust?"

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  2. Clifford Wells's avatar

    Clifford Wells Posted 4:49 pm
    01 Jul 2009

    I built homes in my previous lifetime, prior to 1999, and I've watched from the sidelines for a long time.  I never saw any need for such a system as LEEDS.  If our customer wanted energy savings, we got the architects to design it that way, which in the scope of the budget.  If they had money for super-heat pumps and 6-inch stud walls, or stacked recycled masonary block, or even straw bales, no problem.  Some were hyper-allegenic, and not a single allergy-producing thing could be used in the house in any way, form, or fashion.  Others didn't want any toxic stuff or even Sheetrock.  OK, we'll build you a house, big deal.  Remodeling anything was always a pain because you could contol all the design issues but our group of local hippies did a pretty good job and got some awards. Now there are "consultants" who will be glad to take moneys to audit anything, I guess even a freaking parking garage.  But fundamentally, structures don't save money -- people do.  The amounts of water and electricity used in the typical American house are shockingly high.  I can never understand the logic, like putting all that money into energy-reducing measures and then installing a sprinker system for carpet grass, almost ludicrous -- but hey, it all pays the same.  I guess being on the other side of the fence gace me a different perspective.Nowdays there are even companies that will audit your town or city to see how much CO2 you have "saved" in the name of global warming.  I guess it is good PR, but people, you haven't saved a darn thing -- you're just not using as much juice so somebody else can use it, or at a later date.  Over the years I found that investing more and more money to reduce your juice is actually throwing good money after bad.  Can't you just build a smaller unit?  At times our logic defies understanding.  The horror stories abound, such as an audit on a state building during which almost a million dollars was spent, and the air conditioning either fried or froze the workers.  Great going folks!  I think I'll avoid all that LEEDS and auditing and "help." At any rate, thanks for exposing the ermeging greenwashing and fraud.  Personally, I never claimed to be a "green builder."  We did recycle and build stuff as efficient as possible, and even put in roof rain collection systems, but I didn't need no stinking Green Stamp of Approval.

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  3. Javaman Posted 7:10 am
    02 Jul 2009

    I work in the architecture industry Leed-washing has been going on for years. this is nothing new. these developers want the props of the LEED cert but don't want to do the work. Why? because the overhead of actually becoming a real LEED cert would cut into their profits.there are responcible companies out there, but they are few and far between. even the ones that try to toe the line still cut corners. just the facts people.we are all just whistling past the graveyard folks. We are heading for a cliff at high speed but instead of slowing down, we are speeding up. It's going to be one truly spectacular crash.see you all at the bottom.

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  4. EMerge Alliance's avatar

    EMerge Alliance Posted 11:55 am
    06 Jul 2009

    Sure, we might be getting a little liberal with LEED, it is after all what everyone wants. This is exactly why they’ve moved to a new version that mandates energy reporting. As this begins to be instituted, there will undoubtedly be lots of questions and probably more naysayers, but they have responded appropriately to their critics with this move to measure performance. We should be encouraged, as this is another step toward greater benefits for the environment. To support USGBC’s efforts and other organizations with similar goals, we’ve created an open industry association called the EMerge Alliance that promotes the rapid adoption of safe, low voltage DC power distribution and use in commercial buildings through the development of a standard that is focused on the performance of the building. Emerging technologies like solar and win already produce DC energy. We’re trying to make it possible to use this energy more directly within buildings without converting it to AC, ultimately reducing energy loss.

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  5. Suspicious mushroom Posted 3:02 pm
    09 Jul 2009

    Leah Boyer is the most amazing Urban Planner. She is very environmental friendly and will always use two scoops of raisins.

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  6. Username's avatar

    Username Posted 10:26 am
    14 Jul 2009

    Good Article.

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  7. Lyon Posted 9:33 am
    24 Jul 2009

    I live in Northampton and I am always suspicious of companies green-washing and overstating their eco-friendliness. So this story doubly interested me.But I did my research on the usgbc.org website, and right there under certified projects was the Northampton Taco Bell/KFC. Apparently it WAS gold certified by LEED. Search Northampton, MA here:http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/CertifiedProjectList.aspxI too believe these claims are bandied about too much, but do your research. 

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  8. Lyon Posted 9:35 am
    24 Jul 2009

    sorry - just saw your correction, it wasn't there when I last read this article and checked into it.

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