Over the years the US Government has grown to become one of the largest supporters of LEED building certification. While many may assume this is due to some radical lefty conspiracy, it was in fact George W. Bush who signed Executive Order 13423, which set “goals in the areas of energy efficiency, acquisition, renewable energy, toxics reductions, recycling, renewable energy, sustainable buildings, electronics stewardship, fleets, and water conservation.” This relationship may soon come to an end, however, if the Republican congress gets its way. According to Chris Cheatham of Green Building Law Update the National Defense Authorization Act will “prohibit FY 2012 Department of Defense (DoD) funds from being used to achieve a LEED Gold or Platinum certification, however these certifications could be obtained if they impose no additional cost to DoD.” The bill goes on to also state that DoD funds may not be used to achieve LEED Gold or Platinum certification unless they impose no additional cost to DoD.

So far bloggers seem to be latching onto the idea that LEED always increases costs. This is the case over at Treehugger.com and in Mr. Cheatham’s piece. In reality the total cost of a project seeking LEED certification does not need to increase. Although there is a cost associated with project registration/certification, there are also savings possible from green building practices. The Green Building Law Blog had a great interview with Kevin Kampschroer, GSA’s Director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings and Eleni Reed, GSA’s Chief Greening Officer. In the post Mr. Kampschroer states that the GSA has done studies on “standard versus green construction, you can do LEED Silver for less than conventional construction because of integrated design.”

There are also less tangible benefits that are difficult to calculate a pay back on. How do you quantify improved worker productivity, retention, health, and happiness? Green building certification with 3^rd party verification is one of the best ways the government can be good stewards with our tax dollars.