The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has accused the USA Today newspaper of impugning the LEED building standard through cherry-picking data and misleading readers.
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The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has accused the USA Today newspaper of impugning the LEED building standard through cherry-picking data and misleading readers.
The controversy surfaced with USA Today's publication of the a special investigative series titled "Green Inc.: Environmentalism For Profit." The latest article in the series, " Green schools: Long on promise, short on delivery," debunked the USGBC's assertion that its Green Schools building program leads to better grades and lower energy use. The newspaper faults USGBC with promoting the Green Schools program using energy-saving estimates made before actual construction.
"USA Today found no clear pattern in a review of student test scores for 65 schools in 11 states that have been rebuilt to get LEED certification and have been open for at least two years," the newspaper wrote. "Forty-two of the schools saw test scores improve after students moved into a LEED building, and 23 saw them decline. Many of the changes were small and moved in the same direction as the school district."
To which the USGBC's CEO Rick Fedrizzi responded, "USA Today has once again written an article attacking green building, deliberately ignoring information we provided and cherry picking data that misleads readers. The story is unbalanced and purposely attempts to impugn LEED despite the fact that it has helped lead quantified best practices in designing, constructing and operating all our buildings, including our nation's schools."
In the online statement, Fedrizzi also touted the Green School's emphasis on providing students with comfortable environments conducive to learning. "But too many of our schools are dark, dingy places filled with airborne toxins and worse," he said. "Our schools need improvement and green schools are the answer."
Earlier, the USGBC took umbrage with another Green Inc. article, In U.S. building industry, is it too easy to be green? USA Today asserted that green builders win tax breaks, exceed local building restrictions and get expedited permits "under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps." In an online response, the USGBC's Brendan Owens said, "Flexibility encourages innovators to innovate and as a result creativity in LEED projects flourishes. We learn valuable lessons on the way, some are more uncomfortable than others, but we learn and we move forward."
Throughout 2012, the USGBC held a series of public comment periods seeking feedback on how to improve the next version of LEED, dubbed LEED v4. The USGBC has scheduled a LEED v4 consensus body opt-in period of April 1-30, as well as a ballot period beginning June 1.
