The General Services Administration announced last week that it will issue a recommendation this fall on whether the federal government should continue using a third-party certification system as the primary federal standard for green buildings. The administration currently uses the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program to certify federal buildings as environmentally friendly, but is reevaluating the standard under a periodic review of green building rating systems. The administration narrowed down more than 100 green building standards to three in April – LEED, the International Living Building Institute’s Living Building Challenge, and Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes. On a related note, the U.S. Green Building Council is currently developing the next version of LEED; it was scheduled to be released this fall, but has been delayed until next year.