Washington, D.C. — As a part of the broader vision for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) V3, the certification bodies for the LEED Green Building Rating System have been announced and are as follows:

• ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc.
• BSI Management Systems America, Inc.
• Bureau Veritas North America, Inc.
• DNV Certification
• Intertek
• KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc.
• Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Inc.
• NSF-International Strategic Registrations
• SRI Quality System Registrar, Inc.
• Underwriters Laboratories-DQS Inc.

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 USGBC 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. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org and www.gbci.org.