Did you know that there are a number of green rating systems covering building design and construction other than LEED?

Green building certification systems cover national, state and regional levels and all vary in terms of credit categories and program fees. Three in particular fall within the State of California: California Green Builder, GreenPoint Rated and Built Green Santa Barbara.

California Green Builder (CGB)

This rating system refers to the California Green Building Standards Code which is based on section 11 of Title 24. It is owned by the Building Industry Institute and sets goals for significant improvements in energy efficiency and water use. There are fees to register the project in addition to the price of hiring a third party rater, and the fees are comparable in price to those required by LEED. A Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rater is required(costs between $800 and $1200) in addition to having California Green Builder specific training. This particular rating system only applies to New Construction. In the end there is just one level of certification, that of certified, so at least you don't have to worry about shooting for Platinum!

http://www.cagreenbuilder.org

GreenPoint Rated

In their own words, GreenPoint Rated is "a membership supported non-profit organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient homes in California." Unlike California Green Builder, Greenpoint applies to new construction and existing homes. With Greenpoint a home is rated on five categories: Resource conservation, indoor air quality, water conservation, community, and energy efficiency. Registration is a flat fee of $550 per project with an additional $50 per unit if it contains multiple families. A Greenpoint Rater is required to verify the credits and this costs between $700 and $1500, which places this system at a higher price point than both LEED and California Green Builder. If rating new construction there is one level of certification, GreenPoint Rated. With existing buildings they rate elements or the whole home.

http://www.builditgreen.org

Within California and specifically within the Santa Barbara area, there is a third option for professionals to consider:

Built Green Santa Barbara

This system was started by the Santa Barbara Contractors Association (SBCA) in an effort to establish a local environmental building program. It is designed to "help builders, developers and property owners with an easy to understand rating system, which quantifies environmentally friendly building practices for remodeling and new construction." Like the other programs Built Green is entirely voluntary and the SBCA provides materials, instruction and a checklist to participants. The system itself have 5 levels, or stars, and third party verification is only needed for the 4th and 5th tier. Cost to register is $250 participation fee plus $300 project enrollment fee. A second optional track includes $350 for SBCA membership and $100 for participation + $50 per project. The system itself is very straightforward and the organization provides a lot of support to those that register their projects. This is good because the checklist itself is long and involved. 

http://www.builtgreensb.org

As with every rating system, whether it covers your local area, state, or nation as a whole, there are several positives for certifying your project. Greater recognition, higher resale value, and not to mention the savings from increased energy and water efficiency are just a few of the bonuses involved.