{"id":5734,"date":"2014-01-21T18:33:30","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T18:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=5734"},"modified":"2014-01-21T18:33:30","modified_gmt":"2014-01-21T18:33:30","slug":"what-leed-did-for-buildings-this-could-do-for-shale-gas-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/01\/21\/what-leed-did-for-buildings-this-could-do-for-shale-gas-production\/","title":{"rendered":"What LEED Did for Buildings, This Could do for Shale Gas Production"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MattThis commentary originally appeared on our EDF Voices blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) put out the\u00a0Open For Business<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0sign\u00a0today<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a key milestone in this\u00a0innovative effort<\/a>\u00a0to up the game on environmental protection in shale gas development.\u00a0 The question now is, will energy companies step up?<\/p>\n

We hope so.<\/p>\n

CSSD is an unprecedented collaboration \u2013 bringing together environmental groups, philanthropic organizations and energy companies to develop performance standards for reducing environmental impacts from shale gas production, and setting up a system so gas producers can have their operations audited and certified against those standards.<\/p>\n

CSSD isn\u2019t a substitute for effective regulation.\u00a0 Strong rules and robust oversight is a nonnegotiable bottom line.\u00a0 But we like the idea of upping the ante.\u00a0 Why not have a program that recognizes companies for going beyond the regulatory minimums and doing more to protect communities and the environment?\u00a0 These companies are tough competitors \u2013 so let\u2019s make environmental performance part of what they compete on.<\/p>\n

I like to use the U.S. Green Building Council\u2019s LEED\u2122 program as an analogy for what CSSD could be.\u00a0 Through its certifications, the LEED\u2122 program has had an enormous influence in making sustainably built homes and offices a growing part of the market.\u00a0 At the same time, developers who build to LEED\u2122 standards find they get higher rents, more attractive financing and better insurance rates.<\/p>\n

What if we could do the same thing here? What if we could introduce a whole new set of economic incentives for improving environmental performance in shale gas production? It\u2019s worth a shot.<\/p>\n

\"OpenClipart.org\"<\/a>
OpenClipart.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, the key pieces of the program are in place. The group has developed 15 initial performance standards that represent leading practices for protecting air, water and climate (new standards will be added over time, and each of the standards will be reviewed every year to make sure they continue to set a high bar for performance). A top-notch auditing firm has been hired. And a detailed set of protocols is in place to make sure the company audits are rigorous, consistent and transparent.<\/p>\n

So, CSSD is open for business, and any operator in the Appalachian region can apply for certification. At the outset, four companies have said they will put their operations under the microscope and seek certification \u2013 Chevron, CONSOL Energy, EQT and Shell. That\u2019s a great start. But it\u2019s only a start.<\/p>\n

The real proof will be in what comes next. Will these first four companies get the kind of recognition they\u2019re after?\u00a0 Will mineral owners and communities start asking operators if they\u2019re CSSD certified before they open their doors to development?\u00a0 Will other companies see the advantage to committing themselves to meet a higher bar and come through the door to get certified?<\/p>\n

We hope so.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019ve invested the time to build a rigorous certification process in collaboration with energy companies, regulators, CSSD auditors, environmental groups and other stakeholders. We recognize that this project is no panacea for solving all the challenges associated with shale energy production. But the potential is there for raising the bar on performance \u2013 and if we can do that, it will have been worth the effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This commentary originally appeared on our EDF Voices blog. The Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) put out the\u00a0Open For Business\u00a0sign\u00a0today\u00a0\u2013 a key milestone in this\u00a0innovative effort\u00a0to up the game on environmental protection in shale gas development.\u00a0 The question now is, will energy companies step up? We hope so. CSSD is an unprecedented collaboration \u2013 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5630,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,693],"tags":[40297,84854,34728],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate","category-natural-gas","tag-cssd","tag-ohio","tag-pennsylvania"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat LEED Did for Buildings, This Could do for Shale Gas Production - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/01\/21\/what-leed-did-for-buildings-this-could-do-for-shale-gas-production\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What LEED Did for Buildings, This Could do for Shale Gas Production - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This commentary originally appeared on our EDF Voices blog. 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