The United States Green Building Council today announced that it has posted a draft copy of the new LEED 2009 rating system to their website, with the intention of collecting public feedback over the next month.

The new and improved version of the often criticized LEED rating system, will increase the it’s emphasis on a building’s environmental, economic and social impact. The new version aims at the ambitious goal of combining all existing LEED variants into a single 100 point system. The current revisions fall short o addressing Life Cycle Analysis, which attempt to systematically address the effects of material extraction and manufacturing, building construction and maintenance, and demolition and disposal. This critical aspect will be included in an upcoming revision. Public comment will again be invited.

The Green Building Movement is founded on an "Integrated Team Approach" in which many users and stakeholders are invited to participate in the design of High Performance or "Green" buildings. It is encouraging to see the USGBC adopting a similar approach of inclusiveness in planning the much anticipated revisions to LEED.

To review and comment on the proposed revisions, visit the USGBC web site .