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Title:	Phoenix Adopts LEED Guidelines
Author:	Mark Wilhelm
Source:	http://www.egreenideas.com
Date:	June 27, 2005

City of Phoenix Adopts LEED Guidelines

City of Phoenix Adopts USGBC LEED Green Building Guidelines for New Facilities. The Phoenix City Council approved green building guidelines for new facilities at a Policy Session on June 21, 2005. As approved, the City's building standards will be revised to implement guidelines for all new buildings. These projects will be built to the basic LEED certification level beginning with the new bond program in 2006. The adopted green building guidelines were developed by the United States Green Building Council to ensure that energy efficiency, water efficiency, efficient use of materials, construction waste management and indoor environmental quality are included in building design and construction.

Over the past several years, Phoenix has implemented a pilot program to gain experience building to the LEED standards. Phoenix Fire Station #50 was the first City facility certified under the LEED program. Other pilot projects include Desert Broom Library, Cesar Chavez Library, Civic Plaza Convention Center Expansion - West Building, and the Glenrosa Service Center. Experience indicates that there are additional costs of 2-3% associated with building to the basic LEED certification standard. These additional costs are recovered over time from reduced operations and maintenance costs. Industry research also shows that green building components can provide a better working environment for occupants, which result in higher levels of productivity. Should productivity gains develop as predicted, the cost benefit of green building facilities significantly improves.

Formal LEED certification will not be sought for all future City facilities due to added cost and time commitment. However, in selected cases, certification through the U.S. Green Building Council may be pursued. To learn more about the Phoenix City Council Report, please visit http://phoenix.gov//PAGENDAC/packhtml.html#acon2 Information about the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED Program is available at http://www.usgbc.org.

Mark Wilhelm, LEED-AP is a founding member and Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council – Arizona Chapter, and a Principal with Green Ideas, Inc., a Phoenx based environmental consulting firm.