LEED CoreConcepts&Strategies_3rd edition - Page 033

Extracted Content

LEVERAGE POINTS

Places to Intervene in a System (in increasing order of effectiveness):

12. Constant, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards)

11. The sizes of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows

10. The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport networks, population age structures)

9. The lengths of delays, relative to the rate of system change

8. The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impacts they are trying to correct against

7. The gain around driving positive feedback loops

6. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to what kinds of information)

5. The rules of the system (such as incentives, punishments, constraints)

4. The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure

3. The goals of the system

2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the system—its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters—arises

1. The power to transcend paradigms

For instance, when carpet manufacturer Interface Flooring switched from being a producer of carpet to a provider of the service of floor coverings, it created a shift in the company’s mission. Instead of buying carpet, customers could buy the service of the carpet, which would be owned by Interface. The company would be responsible for maintaining the carpet over time, replacing worn areas, and disposing of any “waste.” This shift served as a leverage point to enable the company system to change radically toward sustainability, reducing waste, and improving performance of the product while maintaining profit.

from an open system to a closed system. The new mental model resulted not just in more efficient processes, but also in a radical restructuring of the company and all its operations.

Buildings are part of a world of nested systems that affect and are affected by one another. Once the project team understands the network of systems that affect a given project, the energy and matter that flow through the systems, and the relationships and interdependencies that exist, the deeper and more effectively integration can occur.

Figure 2.4. Nested Systems

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