Going into Greenbuild, one of the biggest questions I had was how the US Green Building Council would handle the turmoil in the industry.  And there certainly is turmoil.   I had heard rumors for some time that LEED registrations were down this year, but I had no idea the gravity of the situation.  

Yesterday, GreenerBuildings.com and Rob Watson published the Green Building Market and Impact Report 2010, and the results are staggering: 

"Our year-end forecast of LEED registrations has them down almost 70 percent compared to last year (NC and CS are off 80 percent and 90 percent in the U.S. respectively). As bad as that sounds, these lower registration numbers actually represent about 22 percent of the total expected new floor area to be added this year, which puts LEED near the top of its anticipated full market saturation point of 25 percent of new construction."

For every 100 projects that registered for LEED certification last year, there are now 30.  I cannot tell you how many green building consultants I have talked to that have seen their backlog of work evaporate.  A green building consultant's work often comes from projects registering and applying for LEED certification so it is no surprise that LEED-related work is virtually non-existent. 

And yet, at Greenbuild, there has not been one mention of the reality of the LEED registration scenario.  During his opening speech yesterday, CEO Rick Fedrizzi looked forward but scarcely mentioned the difficult year that has existed for the green building industry.  Many in the green building industry are silently suffering.  Why not at least address the scenario? 

The economy has certainly taken a big, green bite out of the LEED rating system.  The question remains, is the precipitous drop in LEED registrations the result of non-economic reasons as well?  Are there other non-economic reasons for the precipitous drop?