LEED

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary standard for developing environmentally responsible, high performance, low emission, sustainable buildings. It was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit coalition of leaders from across the building industry dedicated to promoting environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. USGBC developed LEED® to establish a common standard of measurement and promote integrated, whole-building design practices. LEED® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable commercial buildings.

Additional key reasons for architects, builders, developers, municipalities and owners to pursue a project with LEED certification include:

Proven performance

Parties serious about saving money, conserving energy, reducing water consumption, improving indoor air quality, making better building material choices, and driving innovation, then LEED is the best choice.

Third-party certification verifies that your project is designed, built and operating the way it was intended. It is also a first step toward managing a building through its entire lifecycle.

Continuous improvement

Behind the LEED program is an immense infrastructure developed to support the leaders in the industry as they innovate and create cutting-edge, high performance buildings. The USGBC makes significant investments each year to maintain, operate and improve LEED and its delivery. No other rating system has an infrastructure that comes close.

Lifetime of returns

LEED-certified buildings cost less to operate, reducing energy and water bills by as much as 40%. Businesses and organizations across the globe use LEED to increase the efficiency of their buildings, freeing up valuable resources that can be used to create new jobs, attract and retain top talent, expand operations and invest in emerging technologies.

LEED buildings have faster lease-up rates and may qualify for a host of incentives like tax rebates and zoning allowances and retain higher property values.

Rating System

LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project.

Each rating system groups requirements that address the unique needs of building and project types on their path towards LEED certification. Once a project team chooses a rating system, they’ll use the appropriate credits to guide design and operational decisions.

There are five rating systems that address multiple project types:

• Building Design and Construction (BD+C)
• Interior Design and Construction (ID+C)
• Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M)
• Neighborhood Development (ND)
• Homes (HOMES)

Credits

Each rating system is made up of a combination of credit categories. Within each of the credit categories, there are specific prerequisites projects must satisfy and a variety of credits projects can pursue to earn points. The number of points the project earns determines its level of LEED certification.

Levels of Certification

The number of points a project earns determines the level of LEED certification. There are four levels of certification - the number of points a project earns determines the level of LEED certification that the project will receive. Typical certification thresholds are:

• Certified            40-49 Points
• Silver                50-59 Points
• Gold                 60-79 Points
• Platinum           80+ Points

For more information, please visit www.usgbc.org.