The revised Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) mechanism will be launched in January 2009, according to a statement by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which introduced the system in 2000.
The original LEED rates buildings according to a points system based on five criteria: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
In the new LEED 2009, "points will be allocated differently and reweighed, and the entire process will be flexible to adapt to changing technology, account for regional differences and encourage innovation," according to the USGBC.
The EU has its own programme for rating the environmental performance of buildings, the 2002 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which provides member states with an "integrated method" for calculating energy efficiency based on a variety of factors, such as the building's position, heating, cooling and lighting installations.
Based on this method, member states are to create their own minimum standards for energy efficiency.
But unlike LEED, which has become recognised and popular at international level, the EPBD remains obscure, and member states are behind in implementing the directive.
Real and perceived high costs, lack of technical skills and expertise, conflicting national measures and low public acceptance explain why 20 EU member states have yet to implement the EPBD, according to Ursula Hartenberger of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
In addition to slow progress in improving building efficiency, EU countries face criticism for failing to improve the energy efficiency of their economies, considered a crucial part of the EU's objective to slash CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 (EurActiv 07/12/07 and 07/07/08).
