LEED's Reputation at Risk Due to Flooding Vulnerabilities

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process, renowned for its focus on building sustainability, faces scrutiny as more than 800 LEED-certified buildings in the United States are found to be at high risk of flooding, raising questions about the system’s climate resilience credentials.

A recent analysis conducted by E&E News and the non-profit First Street Foundation has revealed that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has granted its prestigious point-based LEED certification to 830 new buildings over the past decade that have a significant chance of flooding (estimated at up to 50% annually).

This revelation has significant implications for climate resiliency in the United States, where LEED certification holds substantial importance. The system is either subsidized or mandated by over 350 local and state governments and is also a requirement for federal buildings managed by the General Services Administration.

Among the LEED-certified government buildings that have faced substantial flood-related damages are a library in Kentucky, Vermont’s Department of Public Safety headquarters, and the North Carolina History Center, which was inundated by Hurricane Florence’s 13.5-foot storm surge in 2017.

While the LEED standard has been lauded for its commitment to climate-friendly energy efficiency and water conservation, it has been criticized for largely neglecting the growing impacts of climate change, despite the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disasters. Former USGBC board member Alex Wilson expressed disappointment in the program’s lack of focus on resilience and its failure to actively address the issue.

The implications of this situation are considerable, as it suggests that tens of millions of tax dollars have been allocated to projects that may require recurring repairs or even abandonment before their expected life span is reached, leading to doubts about the true sustainability of some green buildings.

Furthermore, the missed opportunity to utilize LEED for enhancing climate resilience worsens the situation. The LEED certification process only provides a meagre four points out of a possible 110 for measures aimed at protecting projects from flooding, and three of these points are designated as “pilot credits,” meaning that most LEED experts are not well-acquainted with them.

While the Biden administration and the USGBC, in collaboration with the International Code Council, are working on incorporating resilience into their guidelines and codes, any modifications to the LEED system are not expected until at least 2025. This raises concerns that many more buildings could receive LEED certification despite being constructed or situated in ways that are susceptible to flooding or other climate-related hazards.

In Canada, a recent study forecasts that Vancouver could be one of the first cities to experience severe inundation due to sea level rise within the next 80 years, with several iconic buildings at risk. Notably, the LEED-platinum certified Vancouver Convention Centre at Canada Place is among the vulnerable structures. The Canada Green Building Council had not responded to requests for comments at the time of this report’s publication.