What is LEED®

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED^® gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED^® promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

LEED^® provides a road map for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED^® programs include:

• New Commercial Construction and Major Renovation projects
• Existing Building Operations and Maintenance
• Commercial Interiors projects
• Core and Shell Development projects
• Homes
• Neighborhood Development
• Guidelines for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Projects
• LEED® for Schools
• USGBC is also developing LEED® Retail for New Construction, LEED® Retail for Commercial Interiors, and LEED® for Healthcare.

How is LEED^® Developed?

The LEED^® Rating System was created to transform the built environment to sustainability by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green building. The rating system is developed and continuously refined via an open, consensus-based process that has made LEED the green building standard of choice for Federal agencies and state and local governments nationwide.

What is LEED^® Certification?

The first step to LEED^® certification is to register your project. A project is a viable candidate for LEED^® certification if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve the minimum number of points to earn the Certified level of LEED^® project certification. To earn certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources.

(LEED^® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Green Building Counsil (USGBC.) Information regarding LEED^® and its guidelines are provided by the USGBC.)