The USGBC's Building Performance Partnership (BPP) is now open to all current whole-building LEED-certified commercial and residential projects. The program was announced last summer and is meant to engage owners and managers of LEED-certified facilities to optimize building performance throuhg data collection, analysis, and action. Performance data collected through the program will inform future versions of the LEED ratings system. Through the program, USGBC aims to create a comprehensive green building performance database and enable standardization of reporting metrics and analytics to establish new building performance benchmarks.
“The significance of USGBC conducting this research is to inform future iterations of the LEED green building program. By providing a large and accurate data set critical to supporting the ongoing improvement of LEED and continuous optimization of LEED-certified projects, BPP will ensure LEED projects deliver on their extraordinary environmental and economic potential,” says Scot Horst, senior vice president, LEED. “BPP is the foundation of USGBC’s commitment to a meaningful demonstration of the value of building and operating green.”
Participating buildings receive annual information on performance, specifically comparing predicted or actual performance at the time of certification with the project’s current performance. Current participants will receive a basic performance report by Greenbuild 2010 in November. No building will be decertified for performance or a performance gap.
“There is all too often a disconnect or predicted performance gap between energy modeling done during design and what actually happens during daily operation after the building has been constructed, due to occupant behavior and other factors,” says Horst. “In order to improve upon LEED and for projects that perform lower than anticipated, BPP will help projects meet operational sustainability goals sought originally during the design and construction process. The data will shed light on external issues such as occupant behavior or unanticipated building usage patterns.”
Current participation is voluntary and more than 120 projects are participating in the program's first phase, which is focused on energy and water. Data will be collected through Energy Star's Portfolio Manager for LEED-certified commercial projects and through Earth Aid for LEED-certified residential projects.
For more information, visit usgbc.org/bpp.
