LEED FAQs
What is LEED®?
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building rating system and certification program developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Commercial green building guidelines were first published in 2000 with LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC). LEED-NC is the rating system used in 80% of all LEED projects. Since then, USGBC
has developed rating systems to cover a variety of construction scenarios:
• Existing buildings
• Commercial interiors
• Core & Shell
• Neighborhood development
• Schools
• Retail
• Healthcare
• Homes
Over 35,000 projects currently participate in the LEED system in all 50 states. Not all registered projects pass certification. Certification is not achieved until project completion, and compliance is verified through USGBC’s documentation process.
What is the USGBC?
The USGBC is a non-profit, non-governmental association made up of over 20,000 member organizations and 79 local chapters, including architects, engineers, project managers, manufacturers and governmental agencies. USGBC reports that membership has tripled in the last eight years, and there are now more than 100,000 LEED accredited professionals. The industry is projected to encompass $60 billion in projects by 2010. For more information on USGBC and LEED, go to www.USGBC.org.
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