As part of an update to the LEED system set for January 2009, the United States Green Building Council said it will hand off certification duties. Specifically, the USGBC plans to move administration of the LEED certification process to the Green Building Certification Institute, a non-profit organization established last year with help from the USGBC.

According to Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president and CEO, the move comes at a time of increased growth for LEED. “During the past year, the dramatic growth in the number of LEED project certifications challenged us to apply our mission of market transformation to ourselves,” he said. “We’ve been able to create a solution that will expand our capacity to serve the community while letting USGBC continue to focus on improving the LEED rating system and delivering exceptional green building education.”