Successful green building requires more planning and,
preferably, a greater degree of integration in overall project
delivery, than building without green objectives. All of the major
third-party green certification systems — including LEED,
Green Globes and Designed to Earn the Energy Star — have
recognized this, as have numerous agencies of the federal
government, which has been a leader in studying and promoting green
building.
But, despite this acknowledgement, many parties continue to use
contracts that include no specific provisions addressing critical
green issues, such as: how a project's green goals will be
defined and integrated into the overall project requirements; how
the parties will determine the specific green measures to be taken
to achieve those goals; who is responsible for determining the
goals, means and methods, and then for carrying out the green
measures; and who is responsible, and to what extent, if the
project's green goals are not achieved.
