This week, 25 years after the launch of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) first version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, the council has announced the release of LEED v5–an updated standard that incorporates new criteria focused on human health, resilience, and decarbonization. USGBC was founded in 1993 by real estate developer David Gottfried, environmental attorney Michael Italiano, and environmental marketing expert Rick Fedrizzi. The nonprofit organization united professionals in architecture and sustainability to create a green building rating system aimed at improving building performance. That system would develop into LEED.  Around this time, a broader national conversation about sustainable building practices took hold. President Bill Clinton announced a “Greening of The White House,” based on his belief that the President’s official residence and workplace should serve as a model of American sustainability. After an energy audit, upgrades were made to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, including new lightbulbs, a new HVAC, double-pane windows, and a “super-efficient” Whirlpool refrigerator. In the years that followed, individual states began developing and adopting their own sustainability guidelines for new construction, further embedding green standards into public policy and infrastructure planning. Now, there over 195,000 LEED certified projects in 186 counties. Despite its widespread adoption, LEED has faced persistent criticism for emphasizing design intent over actual performance. Critics argue that the system often rewards projects for checking off relatively easy, low-impact items rather than delivering meaningful environmental results. It has also been said that some LEED-certified buildings have been shown to underperform in real-world energy use compared to non-certified counterparts, highlighting a gap between certification and outcomes. Others point to the cost and complexity of the certification process, which can discourage participation or lead to “greenwashing,” where sustainability becomes more about optics than substance. Additionally, LEED’s point-based system has been described as inflexible and outdated, insufficiently addressing urgent issues like carbon reduction and climate resilience. In response to ongoing concerns about the real-world impact and competitiveness of its certification system, the USGBC has introduced updates to its green building program. Most recently, LEED v5 works to address challenges around carbon emissions, quality of life and climate resilience. This builds on earlier shifts, such as the launch of LEED v4.1 in 2019, which moved the program away from a sole emphasis on design and construction, placing greater weight on a building’s operational performance. Together, these updates signal a more adaptive approach to sustainability—one that considers a building’s full lifecycle and its interaction with the surrounding environment. Decarbonization, Health, and Resiliency The LEED rating system evaluates buildings across categories like energy, water, and materials to award points; based on the total, projects earn Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. In LEED’s fifth iteration decarbonization accounts for half of the available points in an effort to create ultra-low-carbon buildings. All projects must estimate their operational carbon footprint and will receive tools to develop a comprehensive, long-term decarbonization plan. LEED v5 also takes into account the health and well-being of a building’s occupants and its surrounding community. This focus on transparency and human-impact is in direct competition with other sustainability certifications, specifically the WELL Building Standard, which is a comprehensive certification process that focuses on a “people-first” approach.  The final component of LEED v5 emphasizes resilience and the integration of new developments into both their natural and community contexts. All LEED v5 projects are required to complete climate resilience assessments that identify potential hazards, improve risk transparency, and reduce vulnerabilities to support long-term safety and sustainability. Despite criticism, research has demonstrated that LEED-certified buildings effectively reduce waste, enhance quality of life, and boost property values. For example, a 2018 study by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) analyzed data from 100 of its high-performance buildings and compared them to 100 legacy stock buildings. The results showed that high-performance buildings consume less energy and water, are more cost-efficient to operate, generate less waste, and have higher occupant satisfaction than standard buildings.  Meaningful Change Still the question remains: Are these changes enough to meaningfully address climate change? While LEED v5 represents a significant step forward, it remains only one piece in a much larger puzzle. In the United States, the government has exercised a heavy hand in walking back the need for sustainable building practices. Agencies are attempting to reshape how architects can present and discuss federally commissioned work. AN recently obtained a communication indicating a push to revisit previously approved materials and modify language related to sustainability in projects carried out by the Overseas Building Operations, but notes that “references to LEED certifications or achievements are permitted.”   As the framework for federal sustainability standards disintegrates, the need for third-party regulatory programs, like LEED, become more and more important. Building and construction account for nearly 40 percent of global carbon emissions, and voluntary certification systems, no matter how robust, can only go so far without widespread adoption and deep systemic change. In a country grappling with increasingly extreme weather and political resistance to acknowledging climate realities, maybe incremental change is the most we can ask for.