As a part of the broader vision for LEED V3, the certification bodies for the LEED Green Building Rating System were announced today. Well-known and respected for their role in certifying organizations, processes and products to ISO and other standards, they are:

• ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc. (http://www.abs-qe.com)
• BSI Management Systems America, Inc. (http://www.bsi-global.com)
• Bureau Veritas North America, Inc. (http://www.us.bureauveritas.com)           
• DNV Certification (http://www.dnvcert.com)
• Intertek (http://www.intertek.com)
• KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. (http://www.kema.com)
• Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Inc. (http://www.lrqa.co.uk)
• NSF-International Strategic Registrations (http://www.nsf.org)
• SRI Quality System Registrar, Inc. (http://www.sri-i.com)
• Underwriters Laboratories-DQS Inc. (http://www.ul.com/mss)

In the spirit of the most successful LEED projects, this evolution in the certification process is being undertaken as an integrated part of a major update to the technical rating system which will debut in January as LEED 2009. The update will also include a comprehensive technology upgrade to LEED Online aimed at improving the user experience and expanding its portfolio management capabilities.    

Currently, all LEED project submissions are reviewed by USGBC with the support of independently contracted reviewers. In alignment with its vision of market transformation, beginning in January 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), developers of LEED, will move administration of the LEED certification process to the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), a non-profit organization established in 2007 with the support of USGBC. Working together with the selected certification bodies, GBCI will deliver a substantially improved, ISO compliant certification process that will be able to grow with the green building movement.

"During the past year, the dramatic growth in the number of LEED project certifications challenged us to apply our mission of market transformation to ourselves," commented USGBC President, CEO, and Founding Chairman Rick Fedrizzi. "By learning from ISO, engaging with world-class certification bodies, and focusing on our mission, we‚ve been able to create a solution that will expand our capacity to serve the community while letting USGBC continue to focus on improving the LEED rating system and delivering exceptional green building education."

"Third-party certification is the hallmark of the LEED program," added Alice Soulek, VP of LEED Development. "Moving the administration of LEED certification under GBCI will continue to support market transformation by delivering auditable third-party certification. Importantly, it also allows UGSBC to stick to the knitting of advancing the technical and scientific basis of LEED."

GBCI currently administers the LEED Accredited Professional program, in alignment with ANSI requirements for professional certifications.