Relationship to LEED Products

 

The Green Guide is not a LEED® rating system and is not a product of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Green Guide has a history of collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council, beginning with an agreement in 2002 to borrow the organizational structure from the USGBC’s LEED Green Building Rating System.

The LEED structure was adopted because it is a familiar and effective method used by a rapidly growing segment of the building design, construction, operations and maintenance industries. For many credits, the Green Guide directly incorporates the language of a parallel LEED credit, referencing credits in the LEED systems for New Construction, Existing Buildings — Operations and Maintenance and Commercial Interiors. In some cases, existing LEED credits have been modified to respond to the unique needs and concerns of healthcare facilities. In others, new credits have been added beyond those in current LEED products. The Green Guide’s Credit Summary identifies its relationship to LEED credits.

The Green Guide provides value to teams pursuing LEED certification:

• The Green Guide offers strategies and guidance specific to healthcare facilities that may be useful in establishing pathways for healthcare facilities to comply with LEED prerequisites and credits.
• Green Guide prerequisites and credits may be eligible to garner innovation credits in projects pursuing LEED certification.

LEED for Healthcare is in development, following an approved development cycle that guides all LEED rating systems. When released, LEED for Healthcare will be aligned with LEED 2009, based on a 100-point scale and with weighted credits established as part of LEED 2009 Design and Construction. While the point allocation will differ from the Green Guide, much of the credit content overlaps. For more information on LEED for Healthcare, click here.

USGBC and the Green Guide will:

• jointly develop health care-related resource materials, education and training events
• jointly identify a prioritized research agenda
• continue to collaborate on developing future health care-related green building tools

USGBC will administer the LEED for Healthcare certification process. The Green Guide for Health Care will continue to act as a change agent and tool developer dedicated to empowering the health delivery industry to take a leadership position in green building and operations. As such, the Green Guide will continue to develop the next generation of GGHC tools.