The Living Building Challenge emerged and really represents the ideal goal of what an environmentally responsible building should be, at this moment in time. The Living Building Challenge is an exciting vision of the regenerative nature that buildings can have but it is both really challenging and expensive to implement. Large projects with really healthy budgets and smaller projects with dedicated shepherds are the most likely users of this rating system.
Without the budgets or the manpower to push this forward, The Living Building Challenge might be currently attainable for only for a small group. Recognition of this fact, has prompted the LBC to roll out the Petal Recognition whereby teams are recognized for accomplishing pieces of the standard, which are still very challenging to meet. Unfortunately, it tends to model itself after LEED and suffers to some extent from the prescriptive nature of LEED. It is, however, a great rating system and a way for all of us to keep focused on the ultimate goals and looking forward to next steps.