A public comment period is open now on proposed updates that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) wants to make to its LEED Green Building Program. It runs through March 20.

Costar's GREEN LEAD column collects information abvout a range of topics, including:

• environmental and sustainable design and construction
• best practices for green building maintenance and operations
• economic impact on developers and owners
• new LEED and Energy Star building certifications
• trends in the green building movement.

The website takes items for the column at [email protected].