LEED Certification and Green Design

LEED Certification and Green Design
by Erin Brennan

LEED Certification is a Green Building Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

LEED buildings are third-party independently certified and are "the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings," (1). LEED offers certification for new building designed to meet green standards. LEED also certifies older buildings which have been redesigned or remodeled to meet certain criteria making them more energy efficient. LEED offers certification standards for commercial interiors, schools, healthcare facilities, and retail outlets, as well as homes, apartment buildings, and condominiums. Through the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED offers neighborhood development, design, and planning focused on sustainability and smart growth (1).

LEED certification indicates a property’s sustainability by awarding points for almost any different element of 'green design'. Sustainable features such as energy-efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures, rainwater collection and reuse systems, and even bicycle racks are all given points. The points are then totaled to award different levels of LEED certification ranging from Silver and Gold to Platinum, the highest (2).

LEED programs are used by "architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders and government officials," (1). Municipal and State Governments are beginning to use LEED to plan and construct public buildings from libraries to police stations. Government agencies at the federal level are using LEED as well. LEED projects are in progress in 41 countries around the world (1).

LEED certification provides third-party verification that a building or project meets both green building and performance criteria. The benefits to LEED certification are both environmental and financial in nature(1).

According to the U.S. Green Building Council,
LEED-certified buildings:
•Lower operating costs and increased asset value.
•Reduce waste sent to landfills.
•Conserve energy and water.
•Healthier and safer for occupants.
•Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
•Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities.
•Demonstrate an owner's commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

According to a study done by the CoStar Group, a Commercial Real Estate Information Group, LEED certified buildings outperform similar non-green buildings in not only energy efficiency, but sale price, rental rates, and even occupancy. Sometimes the margins are pretty large. According to the CoStar study, LEED building have rent premiums on average $11.33 higher per square food than non-green buildings and have over 4% higher occupancy rates. Additionally, buildings certified by EnergyStar (another energy efficiency rating system) sell for an average of $61 more per square foot than non-green buildings. However, LEED certified buildings astonishingly sell for an average of $171 more per square foot than non-green buildings (2). According to Andrew Florance, president and CEO of CoStar, "Green buildings are clearly achieving higher rents and higher occupancy, they have lower operating costs, and they’re achieving higher sale prices," (2).

LEED has emerged as the building industry’s top sustainability rating system above the possibly better know EnergyStar, and has become virtually synonymous with the term 'green building'. For this reason, "There’s a bit of urgency now that the value of buildings could be affected if they are not LEED-certified," says Mark Bennett, a senior attorney with the Miller Canfield law firm which specializes in green building and climate change issues (2). According to the National Green Building Finance and Investment Forum, a conference involving financial sector and property investment leaders, "If you’re building today without LEED, you’re building in obsolescence," (2).

1. U.S. Green Building Council, http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
2. CoStar Group, http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=D968F1E0DCF73712B03A099E0E99C679