Nov 18, 2014

What is LEED? Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. The system is credit-based, allowing projects to earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building. LEED was launched in an effort to develop a “consensus-based, market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices.” The program is not rigidly structured; not every project must meet identical requirements to qualify. Detailed information on the LEED program and project certification process is available from USGBC at http://www.usgbc.org/. The program outlines the intent, requirements, technologies, and strategies for meeting each credit. Credits are broken down into individual points. A building requires at least 40 points for certification in LEED-NC v3.0. Silver, gold, and platinum levels are also available. LEED Certification Levels • Certified 40 - 49 Points • Silver 50 - 59 Points • Gold 60 - 79 Points • Platinum 80-110 Points LEED and Construction Waste. Points Available 2 Construction waste: Divert more than 50% of construction waste away from land fill 1 point. Divert more than 75% of construction waste away from land fill 2 points.

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