LEED Guides
US Green Building Council (USGBC) and LEED®
According United States Green Building Council or USGBC, buildings today have
a substantial impact on the environment. Buildings:
- Account for 40-50% of all energy consumed
- Utilize valuable land resources
- Consume billions of gallons of water
- Generate a substantial amount of waste during the construction phase of a project.
U.S. Building Impacts on Resources
- 39% of total energy consumption
- 71% of electricity consumption
- 39% CO2 emissions
- 30% of raw materials use
- 30% of waste output
- 12% of potable water consumption
The USGBC founded in 1993, is the leading organization that represents the building industry on
environmental matters. There goal is to transform the built environment to be energy efficient
and environmentally friendly. The USGBC attempts to develop tools that project teams can utilize
in the sustainable design, development, operation and maintenance of "green" buildings. To assist
in this endeavor, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED was developed and introduced in 2000.
LEED is a voluntary point's based system based standard on accepted energy and environmental principles
and standards which provides a framework for assessing a buildings performance and meeting sustainability
standards. LEED provides project teams a practical set of design and performance goals and independent
third party verification of their achievements. Although there is no governing body for "green"
construction, LEED is considered by many as the defining standard for green building. For more
information on USGBC and LEED visit www.usgbc.org.
There are six separate categories project teams can earn LEED points in:
- Sustainable Sites–seeks to limit development to only appropriate sites, reuse existing buildings, sites or both, protect natural and agricultural areas, and reduce the need for automobiles.
- Water Efficiency–seeks to reduce the quantity of water withdrawn from rivers, streams and reservoirs.
- Energy & Atmosphere–seeks to optimize energy efficiency, encourage renewable, and alternative energy sources.
- Materials & Resources–seeks to reduce the amount of materials needed, use materials with less environmental impact and reduce and manage waste.
- Indoor Environmental Quality–establishes indoor air quality, eliminates, reduces and manages the sources of indoor air pollutants, ensures thermal comfort and controllability, and provides for occupant connection to the outdoors.
- Innovation & Design Process–recognizes projects for innovative building features and sustainable knowledge.
The project must meet all prerequisites and a minimum of 26 points is required.
There are four levels of certification:
- 26-32 points to get certified
- 33-38 points to receive a silver rating
- 39-51 points to receive a gold rating
- 52-69 points to receive a platinum rating
In addition to the beneficial impact green building has on the environment, other attributes include:
- Positive health benefits of building occupants
- Potential improvement in productivity of building occupants
- Reduction in operating costs of a green building
- Enhanced marketability of a green building and the companies that occupy them.
- Meet social expectations of the market place
- Meet the increasing demand of international, federal, state and local green building codes.
Currently or in development,
USGBC offers specific rating systems for:
New Construction
LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations is designed to guide and distinguish high-performance commercial and institutional projects.
Existing Buildings
LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance provides a benchmark for building owners and operators to measure operations, improvements and maintenance.
Commercial Interiors
LEED for Commercial Interiors is a benchmark for the tenant improvement market that gives the power to make sustainable choices to tenants and designers.
Core & Shell
LEED for Core & Shell aids designers, builders, developers and new building owners in implementing sustainable design for new core and shell construction.
Schools
LEED for Schools recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools and addresses the specific needs of school spaces.
Retail
LEED for Retail recognizes the unique nature of retail design and construction projects and addresses the specific needs of retail spaces.
Healthcare
LEED for Healthcare promotes sustainable planning, design and construction for high-performance healthcare facilities.
Homes
LEED for Homes promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes.
Neighborhood Development
LEED for Neighborhood Development integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.
LEED is a registered trademark of the US Green Building Council
