Overview of LEED
The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ has brought all sectors of the building industry together to develop a voluntary, national standard in the development of “high-performing, sustainable buildings.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders and government officials can all use LEED to help transform the built environment to sustainability. State and local governments across the country are adopting LEED for public-owned and public-funded buildings; there are LEED initiatives in federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, and State; and LEED projects are in progress in 41 different countries, including Canada, Brazil, Mexico and India.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This is a design standard used nationally to rate how "Green" a building is. LEED provides resources for building owners and operators resources to increase their building's energy efficiency.

LEED was created to accomplish the following:

• Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement
• Promote integrated, whole-building design practices
• Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
• Stimulate green competition
• Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
• Transform the building market

Green Building Council members, representing every sector of the building industry, developed and continue to refine LEED. The rating system addresses six major areas:

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Innovation and design process

LEED Credits

Different LEED versions have varied scoring systems based on a set of required "prerequisites" and a variety of "credits" in the six major categories listed above. In LEED v2.2 for new construction and major renovations for commercial buildings there are 69 possible points and buildings can qualify for four levels of certification

• Certified - 26-32 points
• Silver - 33-38 points
• Gold - 39-51 points
• Platinum - 52-69 points

LEED certification is obtained after submitting an application documenting compliance with the requirements of the rating system as well as paying registration and certification fees. Certification is granted solely by the Green Building Council responsible for issuing the LEED system used on the project.

Different versions of the rating system are available for specific project types:

• LEED for New Construction: New construction and major renovations (the most commonly applied-for LEED certification)
• LEED for Existing Buildings: Existing buildings seeking LEED certification
• LEED for Commercial Interiors: Commercial interior fitouts by tenants
• LEED for Core and Shell: Core-and-shell projects (total building minus tenant fitouts)
• LEED for Homes
• LEED for Neighborhood Development: Neighborhood development
• LEED for Schools: Recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools
• LEED for Retail: Consists of two rating systems. One is based on New Construction and Major Renovations version 2.2. The other track is based on LEED for Commercial Interiors version 2.0.

LEED is a popular guide for green building in the United States and it is developed and continuously modified by workers in the green building industry, especially in the ten largest metro areas in the U.S.

For more information about LEED, please visit www.USGBC.org.