University questions LEED rankings
Late last night, the nearly vacant Malone Engineering Center was fully lit.
Not surprising, perhaps, for many buildings, except that the Malone Center received a gold certification, the second-highest rating, from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s Green Building Rating System .
An apparent discrepancy between environmental efficiency and the popular environmental rating system’s allocation of points has generated lively debate among architects and sustainability experts around the country, and now Yale officials say they are evaluating the value of seeking...
"Yale does not seek certification on its renovation projects"
That's not really true; there were several major LEED-certified (Gold level) laboratories recently renovated at the Yale Medical School.
Another problematic aspect of LEED is that it does not prohibit, or take points off for, any environmentally-destructive materials that are used. I'm thinking about tropical hardwoods as an example. While using destructively-harvested woods like old-growth mahogany would not earn any LEED points, neither would it prevent obtaining a high LEED rating. Thus we are seeing LEED certified buildings around the country that include tropical hardwoods in flooring, cabinets, or other features. That's not acceptable, and the U.S. Green Building Council needs to address this issue.