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there's some pretty shady reporting on the summary page: https://environment.google/projects/environmental-report-2016/ https://environment.google/projects/envi

there's some pretty shady reporting on the summary page: https://environment.google/projects/environmental-report-2016/ https://environment.google/projects/environmental-report-201... 9.2M sqft LEED certified - they display percentages for most stats, but only an absolute for this one? going to make me dig to find their total office square footage to find out what this means? Then the next stat, 31% LEED Platinum. oh good, a percentage. except it's not, it's a percentage of their LEED certified buildings. or "100% landfill diversion, in 6 of our data centres". surely google has more than 6 data centres, but let's only look at the environmental stats of the ones that are doing a good job. [The stat is 84% across all their datacentres.] "100% renewable energy". sounds good, except oh no, it's "we will achieve". What's the percentage right now? [it was 44% in 2015, the last year they report.] [edit - skimmed the report, added in some numbers to my comment] The report itself appears to be mostly the same marketing fluff, until you get down to the "environmental data" appendix on page 66, which actually looks like a pretty solid report of their environmental footprint. And it looks like they're doing a decent job, so i'm not sure why the real numbers are buried so deeply.

mabbo 9y ago
More importantly, LEED is bullshit. LEED is a private entity that you pay to get LEED certification based on your planned designs. Once you have certification, you could build literally anything else. If you buy a LEED certified building, you could convert it to be heated and powered by burning tires and endangered animals- still LEED Certified. There is no decertification process, because that would mean spending money to reduce the number of buildings with the very-public name on it. Why would LEED ever want that?
- culturalzero 9y ago
  Why am I not surprised. Funnily enough, I work in the same building as the EPA, and they advertise their LEED cert. SMH
  - TommyBombadil 9y ago
    It could be that their office's interior design and construction was certified LEED as opposed to the building itself. There are different types of LEED certification available so maybe this is the case in your example?
- ghostly_s 9y ago
  Oh my goodness. I work in the architecture industry at a firm that does a great number of LEED projects, and there is not a shred of truth in this claim.
  - mbesto 9y ago
    Who's claim? The commentator or in Google's?
    - ghostly_s 9y ago
      The person I replied to. Was that unclear?
      - mbesto 9y ago
        Thanks, it was unclear.
  - notatoad 9y ago
    LEED's own website seems to say it's true: http://www.usgbc.org/help/will-my-project-be-decertified-if-it-performs-worse-projected-my-certification-level http://www.usgbc.org/help/will-my-project-be-decertified-if-...
    - ghostly_s 9y ago
      Yes, it's true there's no LEED "decertification" process, but everything else the parent comment claimed or implied is false, including the implication here that "LEED decertificaiton" is a thing that's needed due to any sort of prevalent LEED fraud.
      - fenwick67 9y ago
        Let's fact check the post: LEED is a private entity... true that you pay to get LEED certification... true based on your planned designs... true Once you have certification, you could build literally anything else... true If you buy a LEED certified building, you could convert it to be heated and powered by burning tires and endangered animals- still LEED Certified... speculative There is no decertification process,... true because that would mean spending money to reduce the number of buildings with the very-public name on it.... speculative
- hsod 9y ago
  It seems your claim is half true. "The idea that there is this new thing call decertification is inaccurate," says Scot Horst, USGBC's senior vice president for LEED. "The way LEED works is we have a rating system; you send us information about your project, and we certify to that. But let's say that there was someone out there who lied about the prerequisite information or unintentionally provided inaccurate information. We have always had a policy to go back and say this wasn’t what it was represented to be. That is nothing new." "The only way you would ever lose a certification that you've already been awarded is if you didn't meet the prerequisites of the system; USGBC currently does not evaluate or monitor the ongoing operations of a building, Horst adds." http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/green/usgbc-says-no-such-thing-as-leed-decertification_o http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/green... So by my reading, you could lose certification for not building to your plans.

mabbo 9y ago

More importantly, LEED is bullshit. LEED is a private entity that you pay to get LEED certification based on your planned designs. Once you have certification, you could build literally anything else. If you buy a LEED certified building, you could convert it to be heated and powered by burning tires and endangered animals- still LEED Certified. There is no decertification process, because that would mean spending money to reduce the number of buildings with the very-public name on it. Why would LEED ever want that?

culturalzero 9y ago
Why am I not surprised. Funnily enough, I work in the same building as the EPA, and they advertise their LEED cert. SMH
- TommyBombadil 9y ago
  It could be that their office's interior design and construction was certified LEED as opposed to the building itself. There are different types of LEED certification available so maybe this is the case in your example?
ghostly_s 9y ago
Oh my goodness. I work in the architecture industry at a firm that does a great number of LEED projects, and there is not a shred of truth in this claim.
- mbesto 9y ago
  Who's claim? The commentator or in Google's?
  - ghostly_s 9y ago
    The person I replied to. Was that unclear?
    - mbesto 9y ago
      Thanks, it was unclear.
- notatoad 9y ago
  LEED's own website seems to say it's true: http://www.usgbc.org/help/will-my-project-be-decertified-if-it-performs-worse-projected-my-certification-level http://www.usgbc.org/help/will-my-project-be-decertified-if-...
  - ghostly_s 9y ago
    Yes, it's true there's no LEED "decertification" process, but everything else the parent comment claimed or implied is false, including the implication here that "LEED decertificaiton" is a thing that's needed due to any sort of prevalent LEED fraud.
    - fenwick67 9y ago
      Let's fact check the post: LEED is a private entity... true that you pay to get LEED certification... true based on your planned designs... true Once you have certification, you could build literally anything else... true If you buy a LEED certified building, you could convert it to be heated and powered by burning tires and endangered animals- still LEED Certified... speculative There is no decertification process,... true because that would mean spending money to reduce the number of buildings with the very-public name on it.... speculative
hsod 9y ago
It seems your claim is half true. "The idea that there is this new thing call decertification is inaccurate," says Scot Horst, USGBC's senior vice president for LEED. "The way LEED works is we have a rating system; you send us information about your project, and we certify to that. But let's say that there was someone out there who lied about the prerequisite information or unintentionally provided inaccurate information. We have always had a policy to go back and say this wasn’t what it was represented to be. That is nothing new." "The only way you would ever lose a certification that you've already been awarded is if you didn't meet the prerequisites of the system; USGBC currently does not evaluate or monitor the ongoing operations of a building, Horst adds." http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/green/usgbc-says-no-such-thing-as-leed-decertification_o http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/green... So by my reading, you could lose certification for not building to your plans.