Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) is a green building rating system created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to serve as a national standard to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design.

The system is credit-based, allowing projects to earn credits for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building. LEED® was launched in an effort to develop a “consensus-based, market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices.”

These LEED® products are currently available:

1. LEED® – NC v2.2 for New Construction and Major Renovations
2. LEED® - CS v1.0 for Core and Shell
3. LEED® – EB v1.0 for Existing Buildings
4. LEED® – CI v1.0 for Commercial Interiors
5. LEED® Canada – NC v1.0 is also available.
   
   
   Detailed information on the LEED® program and project certification process is available from USGBC at http://www.usgbc.org/. The program outlines the intent, requirements, technologies, and strategies for meeting each credit. Credits are broken down into individual points. A building requires at least 26 points for certification in LEED®-NC v2.2. Silver, gold, and platinum levels are also available.

LEED® Certification Levels

• Certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

Buildings fundamentally impact people’s lives and the health of the planet. In the United States, buildings use one-third of our total energy, two-thirds of our electricity, one-eighth of our water, and transform land that provides valuable ecological resources.

As the green building sector grows exponentially, more and more building professionals, owners, and operators are seeing the benefits of green building and LEED® certification. Green design not only makes a positive impact on public health and the environment, it also reduces operating costs, enhances building and organizational marketability, potentially increases occupant productivity, and helps create a sustainable community. LEED® fits into this market by providing rating systems that are voluntary, consensus-based, market-driven, based on accepted energy and environmental principles, and they strike a balance between established practices and emerging concepts.

Why Certify?

There are many reasons why LEED® project certification can be an asset:

• Be recognized for your commitment to environmental issues in your community, by the stockholder.
  
  
• Receive a transparent and verifiable third party validation of achievement
  
  
• Qualify for a range of state & local government initiatives and incentives (grants programs, rebounds)
  
  
• Marketing your project through USGBC web site, green building conferences and events, case studies, and media announcements.