Build2Sustain - Guarantees Lead to Legal Queasiness
Advisory Board member, Chris Hill, brings up the legal complications of guarantees in this week's post. To find out more about Chris, visit the B2S team page.
As I was following some of the posts by friends on Twitter, I came across a post by a consultant that guarantees LEED Certification. This got me thinking about the myriad issues relating to the third party certification aspect of adding such certification to construction contracts and the relationship of consultants to this process.
Much has already been said, particularly at the Green Building Law Update, a great blog by my friend Chris Cheatham, relating to the queasiness that overcomes a construction attorney at such guarantees. Many aspects of any "guarantee" need to be clarified. What about the energy reporting requirements that USGBC has imposed? Will this, and the seemingly unlimited time horizon of such reporting, be included? Does any guarantee only kick in at the initial stage and the consultant then is no longer "on the hook?" What about continued commissioning and the vagaries of later behavior by facilities managers?
Also, the use of third parties as opposed to just USGBC or GBCI "officials" adds to this uneasy feeling I get when looking at this guarantee. Third party certification adds a new layer to the guarantee.
The issues with this guarantee are much like those that face LEED and other rating systems from both a regulatory and contractual standpoint. The time horizons and human interaction with a “green” space are risk issues that need to be dealt with before the mindset of the masses can be changed.
Build2Sustain seeks to change the landscape and debate about green building from one of a “movement” to a practical business directive. Hopefully this change will encompass a response to these issues.
The energy reporting issues have been discussed at length at Musings and elsewhere, I recommend that you check out that discussion for further thoughts on this issue.
Please share your thoughts on this debate with a comment below.
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