Will LEED Have a Greenhouse Effect on Litigation?
LEED standards for the greening of construction projects may leave people red-faced. Before the dust settles on these new standards.. Clay Olson at South Carolina Construction Defect Law has written a thought-provoking post regarding the uncertainty of LEED standards and the potential for adding to the risks associated with construction. Clay writes:
"There are no universally accepted standards for this type of construction. To qualify that statement, let me state that there is no universally accepted standard for what qualifies as green or, sustainable building. While some municipalities in states such as California have enacted standards recently, I will guarantee you that those standards fail to scratch the surface in comparison to what is actually intended by code regulations. While there is not much doubt that many green projects will fail to deliver the promised environmental savings, there is an almost greater certainty that the mixing of technology with tradition will yield problems that we have yet to recognize."
I share Clay's concern about the unintended consequences of LEED applications on the construction industry. Contractors must be astute risk takers given the high costs of construction, and profit margins that are relatively low. The ambiguity of LEED standards injects unknowns in the bid preparation process that will likely create a greenhouse effect on litigation.
