LEED 3.0 has its doubters

Some research states that the new energy improvement plan by the U.S. Green Building Council may not be a true indicator of a building's efficiency.

By SOURCE: Ann Arbor Business Review June 12, 2009

Stricter standards on energy reduction, a requirement to keep track of how much energy a building actually uses, and a backup plan to improve energy savings if needed are three of the changes that will go into effect June 27 under a new version of U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED .
The version, LEED 3.0, has met some opposition from researchers who say that the program doesn’t produce adequate results in reducing energy use in buildings.
Findings by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
The USGBC plan will require building operators to record energy usage, report it to the council, and have a plan in place to improve energy savings if needed. Other guidelines in LEED 3.0 include tightening the energy savings requirements to 10% over ASHRAE 2007 for new buildings, and 5% for renovations.