What is the difference between a self-certifying, best practices system and a third-party certified rating system?
A self-certifying system does not require program participants to provide documentation demonstrating that the project has complied with the program’s voluntary recommendations. Self-certifying toolkits are used as internal guidance for continuous improvement and best practices. As such, the responsibility for proving compliance with specific Green Guide criteria lies with the project team. A third-party certification program, such as the USGBC’s LEED® Rating System, on the other hand, requires project teams to submit documentation to a third party certifying body (the USGBC, in this case) in order to verify compliance with a set of guidelines.
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