What is LEED?
The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations. LEED provides a nationally recognized certification system to promote integrated, whole-building design practices in the building industry.
How can I get my building project LEED certified and how much will it cost?
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) assumes administration of LEED certification for all commercial and institutional projects registered under any LEED Rating System. The most successful LEED project teams utilize an integrated design process, with LEED in mind from the project’s inception. For information on registration fees and processes, as well as information on certification, click here.
LEED is a point based system where building projects earn LEED points for satisfying specific green building criteria. Within each of the seven LEED credit categories, projects must satisfy particular prerequisites and earn points.
The five categories include Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Energy and Atmosphere (EA), Materials and Resources (MR) and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). An additional category, Innovation in Design (ID), addresses sustainable building expertise as well as design measures not covered under the five environmental categories. The number of points the project earns determines the level of LEED Certification the project receives. LEED certification is available in four progressive levels according to the following scale:
There are 100 base points; 6 possible Innovation in Design and 4 Regional Priority points
- Certified 40-49
- Silver 50-59
- Gold 60-79
- Platinum 80+
What are the point categories?
The LEED system awards points for sustainability in six key areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design.
Can I get my product or service LEED certified?
USGBC does not certify, endorse or promote products, services or companies, nor do they track, list or report data related to products and their environmental qualities. LEED is a certification system that deals with the environmental performance of buildings based on overall characteristics of the project. Credits are not awarded based on the use of particular products but rather upon meeting the performance standards set forth in our rating systems. It is up to project teams to determine which products are most appropriate for credit achievement and program requirements.
How can I get my building project LEED certified and how much will it cost?
Project teams should first register with USGBC, which serves as a declaration of intent to have a project LEED Certified. The most successful LEED project teams report an integrated design process, with LEED in mind from the project’s inception.
Additionally, LEED project teams will need to provide documentation from various stages in the project’s design and or construction. USGBC encourages project teams to register as early as possible.
For information on certification and registration fees and processes, you can visit the Registration page.
For information on certification and the Certification Process, visit the Certification Process page. This page includes information on submittal requirements, review timelines, appeals, and Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs).
For information on certification fees, visit the Registration page.
