What changes can be made so that the LEED experiences of people and companies are better showcased?
The USGBC and GBIG websites could do a much better job of informing other professionals and the public about who is designing, building, engineering and performing LEED services on LEED projects.
Navigating the USGBC and GBIG websites to find out who is working on LEED projects is cumbersome. Case studies and Platinum Member profiles exist on the USGBC website, but it’s odd that these case studies are not linked to or do not exist on GBIG.org. It would make sense that case studies would rest on GBIG.org and not the USGBC website. It seems as if USGBC is still trying to figure out how these two sites behave together. Currently, it seems as if there is lack of focus on where information should be housed—USGBC.org or GBIG.org?
GBIG contains such data as LEED Certified/Registered, LEED points, LEED rating system, credits and points, ENERGY STAR, chapter area, project size, USGBC chapter, EPA region, ASHRAE Climate Zone, urban/rural classification, electrical utility provider and date.
The information that is missing from the website is “who” worked on the project. Knowing the architect, engineer, construction company, owner and LEED project administrator would be useful for a firm’s potential clients looking to validate an A/E/C company’s expertise. It would be helpful to quickly validate how many LEED projects a company has registered and certified. USGBC could help prevent “greenwashing” by being the thirdparty resource that validates claims made by companies working on LEED projects.
Even though the GBIG site has made improvements regarding finding information on projects, it still lacks important searchable criteria—companies that design, engineer and build LEED projects. Most companies would take advantage of telling their LEED stories to the public and having their expertise validated by a third party.
It seems to make perfect sense to display the names of the companies designing, engineering, managing the LEED project process and building LEED projects. But even more could be done within GBIG. Companies that are national members and working on LEED projects could have pages dedicated to their LEED work. Many of the companies that work on LEED projects are avid supporters of USGBC as national members, local chapter members and yearly local chapter sponsors. The level of detail for each company could be part of a larger sponsor benefit strategy. It could be useful for companies to have their activities displayed in a cohesive, clear manner and then have those activities verified by USGBC. Companies could feature LEED projects and LEED professionals within the company, and companies could be searchable in GBIG, including project and project features. USGBC seems to be ignoring most of its core supporters by not gathering this important LEED project information.
How can GBIG help the A/E/C industry showcase its LEED talents? By adding information that would allow one to search who is working on a LEED project. Leaving out this information is a missed opportunity for GBIG, USGBC and the A/E/C community as a whole. Hopefully USGBC and GBIG see this as a problem to be corrected quickly in future updates to GBIG. GBIG has a feedback tab on the left side of the website where others wishing to see a change should place their comments and suggestions.