The LEED® (The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ was first developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998 as a way to encourage the development and implementation of green building practices. As the following statistics demonstrate, LEED has become the pre-eminent green building rating system in the U.S.:

• $12 billion: Annual market for green building products and services
• $1.1 billion+: Square feet of LEED registered or certified commercial building space
• 6,000: Individual homes in LEED pilot program
• 54,567: Professionals trained through LEED workshops
• 38,710: LEED Accredited Professionals
• 10,735: USGBC member organizations
• 1,004: Commercial LEED certified projects
• 7,315: Commercial LEED registered projects
• 46: Percent of LEED projects owned by federal, state or local governments
• 41: Countries with LEED projects
• 50: States with LEED projects, 22 with LEED initiatives for projects
• 55: Cities with LEED initiatives

(Source: USGBC, August 2007)

The LEED system is based on a whole-building approach, and evaluates building performance across six categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation and Design Process

Projects must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks within each category, and are then awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification based upon the number of credits they achieve. The LEED plaque is recognized proof that a building is environmentally responsible, profitable, and a healthy place to live and work.

LEED is applicable to every building type and lifecycle stage; currently, specific LEED programs exist for:

• New Commercial Construction And Major Renovations (LEED-NC)
• Guidelines for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Projects (Based upon LEED-NC)
• Existing Building Operations And Maintenance (LEED-EB)
• Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI)
• Core And Shell Development (LEED-CS)
• Homes (LEED-H)
• Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND)
• Schools
• Retail
• Healthcare (currently under development)

At Green Depot, we understand the ins and outs of the LEED certification process, and have put our skills to test on a number of high-profile LEED projects, including the groundbreaking Bank of America Tower. Call us NOW and let us lay the groundwork for your next LEED project.