Database Outlines the True Costs of Achieving LEED Certification

Cambridge, MA-based Tsoi/Kobus & Associates has created a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind database to help architects, designers, builders, and clients better understand the true costs of LEED certification and make informed decisions about sustainable strategies.  

The statement that inspired Tsoi/Kobus to produce this kind of database? “We’d love a green building, but we can’t afford it” … a statement that architects and interior designers around the country hear from clients. Despite the positive effects of LEED certification on an organization’s public image and bottom line, many clients opt not to pursue LEED certification because they perceive it as prohibitively expensive. In many cases, that perception isn’t true.

Recognizing a pervasive gap between perception and reality, in 2008 Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (TK&A) initiated a two-year study to analyze cost premiums associated with LEED certification, credit by credit and strategy by strategy. To ensure a broad perspective, TK&A invited AHA Consulting Engineers, Vermeulens Cost Consultants, and BuildingGreen to participate in the study. The resulting database, titled The Cost of LEED, examines the financial and functional synergies of various LEED strategies to provide users with a menu of options that can help them select a combination of strategies that best fits their budget and goals.

By offering context for LEED-related decisions and promoting greater understanding of the actual costs associated with green design and building, TK&A hopes to encourage more clients and designers to embrace sustainable design as a sound and achievable business strategy.