An eye opening article in, very surprisingly, USA Today, about LEED certifications given to buildings, thus giving them huge tax breaks and grants from the government or helping them get higher rents in the market. At times, going after LEED certification increases the building costs considerably and may not even have added environmental benefits.
One such case is the Palazzo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas which was considered the largest LEED certified structure in the world when completed. With all its opulence, one wonders how it could have obtained that certificate! The truth is that LEED certificate is based on points and some points are added for things which have no impact on the environment. If there is a LEED certified expert on the team, you can gain a point or if you have a bike rack or  provide preferred parking for fuel efficient cars, you can gain LEED points. And all this is calculated by pre-occupancy projections itself!

More buildings are now resorting to get voluntary EnergyStar program certificates which is issued by EPA a year after occupancy and is reissued yearly. After much criticism, LEED is trying to improve its standards by offering extra points for actual energy use. LEED definitely has to take further steps in improving its standards to make buildings extra energy efficient and sustainable for the future. Read more from USA TODAY here