A storm is brewing in the green building sector

Over the past few years, green building has pushed its way into the national consciousness, representing a rare bright spot in an otherwise dim real estate sector. In fact, a study by Booz Allen Hamilton conducted for the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in November 2009 predicts the green building sector will support or create 7.9 million jobs and contribute $554 billion to the U.S. GDP between 2009 and 2013.

It is because green building is seeing so much success that a debate is raging over what truly constitutes “green.”

On the one side, environmental interests argue — reasonably in my opinion — that the true measure of “green” is in performance. The best laid plans or designs mean little if a building does not actually perform up to these standards. So environmental interests — including the Cascadia Region Green Building Council—are pushing for green building standards that rate performance after a building is constructed, as well as ongoing improvement in the standards, constantly ramping up the status quo and pushing innovation.

On the other side of the debate sits interests defending the status quo, arguing that any standards that require innovation beyond what is legally required hurt small businesses, workers and the US economy. This argument is being propagated by interests such as the American Forest and Paper Association, which is spending millions lobbying to weaken green building standards. At its heart, it assumes U.S. workers can't compete or innovate, an argument that seems obviously wrong.

At stake are not just the billions of dollars that will be invested in the green building sector, but the original intent of green building. The USGBC was created to use the power of the marketplace to drive improvements in how people manage environments. And this market transformation requires progressive approaches that go well beyond the status quo.

In the next two years, the USGBC will be revising its LEED program, the set of standards that define green buildings. It is expected that status quo interests will pour millions of dollars into weakening the standards, basically defining barely legal as "green." Don't be fooled.

Environmental interests will also be focused on the LEED revisions, bringing millions of people into the debate to argue for stronger standards that drive innovation. Their argument is simple: LEED is about leadership. Strong standards breed innovation, which helps companies compete nationally and globally.

And watering down standards has a name: Greenwashing.