Blogs

For most of LEED's history, systematic field testing of air leakage was optional – something advanced teams did voluntarily, not something the rating system demanded.

By hitching their wagon to the horse of Standard 90.1, LEED-related hard costs are rising and becoming increasingly misaligned with low-margin project cost models based largely on minimum energy standards within the project’s regulatory context.

Energy efficiency benchmarking alone is no longer sufficient and we recommend evolving the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) primary climate action program to track total carbon intensity by incorporating fuel source reporting, electrification metrics, expanded embodied carbon tracking, and updated baselines.

Baselines and benchmarks are both valuable. A project's performance narrative should use both deliberately. The baseline grounds the conversation in the specifics of the project. The benchmark situates the project in the larger context.

The recently published Metropolis + Interface U.S. Sustainable Design Report 2026 provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the U.S. building design and construction industry. The report primarily focuses on decarbonization, material transparency, and circularity.