Page 14 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

Preface

he Engineering Guide to LEED—New Construction is intended as a reference or a
textbook to aid in the understanding and application of green building design
Tconcepts for the engineering and development community. It focuses on the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ®
(LEED) rating system as an example format for sustainable vertical construction and
has been updated in this second edition to version 3.0 (LEED 2009) through addenda
December 2, 2009.
Sustainability has many definitions. The definition that has been generally accepted
in the context of human beings building and living in a more “sustainable” world was
initially developed at the World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED) in 1987. It is simply this: “Sustainable Development is development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
Sustainable Construction is a subset of sustainability, which focuses more on the
built environment, both during the construction phase and during the operational
life cycle of the facility. However, both sustainability and sustainable construction are
subject to interpretation and are very difficult to define. What may seem sustainable in
one culture or per one set of values, may not appear sustainable to another. Likewise,
the concepts that may be viewed as more important for sustainability by some people,
may not be as important to others.
A very common term used for a major focus area in sustainable construction is Green
Building. Green Building may not really represent true sustainable construction in some
people’s opinion, but it is an attempt to approach sustainability in a format that fits readily
into our current culture. It is a movement that tries to put some of the concepts of
sustainability into the construction or renovation of our buildings and facilities.
In like manner, even though this book has sustainable construction in its title, it by
no means represents a fully comprehensive method to construct sustainably. This book
is intended to be an introduction to some of the major concepts that are being accepted
in methodologies to introduce sustainability into construction practices in the United
States. It specifically covers the concepts that are currently being promoted by a rating
system developed by the USGBC. The system is entitled LEED and has grown out of
energy-saving efforts in the United States.
This book focuses more on the “Environmental” aspects of LEED. The “Energy”
aspects have been fairly well developed and might require another volume or two to
adequately explain in greater detail. In addition, this book expands on some of the

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