Arc, a platform under the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), is a tool for collecting data and measuring sustainability performance. At Greenbuild 2019 in Atlanta, the annual international conference dedicated to green building sustainability solutions and innovations, it was announced that the Arc online software tool would be dropping their subscription fee, beginning to provide their services free of charge.
Now, Arc is open to anyone to import their own data (in five categories: energy, water, waste, transportation, and human experience) and receive a score, providing comparisons against LEED certified buildings. Arc’s measurements and the score it produces are useful in working toward LEED certification, made easier now that the service is free.
arcskoru.com
Another way the USGBC is making it easier for buildings to enter the LEED certification process is through their new “category certification” program, also announced at Greenbuild 2019 in Atlanta. The “category certification” program will allow existing buildings to focus on improving one Arc category at a time, providing the opportunity for rewarding gradual changes that nonetheless increase sustainable performance. The category certification program, combined with making Arc cost-free, sends a message that working towards higher performing, sustainable, green buildings is an accessible process.
Arc has also released a new feature called Insight for new construction projects, in partnership with Skanska, a Swedish construction and development company. Arc’s Insight works to provide “insight” into data of existing LEED buildings to help building design and construction teams develop sustainability strategies for new construction projects. Insight is the newest tool to utilize already existing LEED data, and leverage that information to inspire more informed project decisions on the front-end, thereby leading to more sustainable building projects.
