| What Is the LEED® Rating System? | | | | "Existing Buildings," LEED has instituted guidelines for |
| LEED stands for the Leadership in Energy and | | | | maintenance and ongoing operation, which gives |
| Environmental Design. This distinction is a property of | | | | building owners and operators a standard of |
| the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit | | | | environmental excellence to reach for; there is even |
| organization that is devoted at its foundational level | | | | a set of standards for "Schools," which serves to put |
| to increasing the use of sustainable and green building | | | | special guidelines in place for the potentially unique |
| practices across the fifty states. | | | | nature of the concerns facing school spaces. In |
| The USGBC has in its ranks 12,000 plus organizations | | | | addition to these three divisions, there are also |
| that span the breadth of the country and all facets | | | | standards for "Commercial Interiors," "Core and Shell," |
| of the building and construction industries. These | | | | "Retail," "Healthcare," "Homes" and "Neighborhood |
| member organizations work collectively in order to | | | | Development." |
| implement and advance building structures that are at | | | | LEED Proposed Core Mission |
| once environmentally safe and sound, as well as | | | | LEED, a voluntary proposal at this time, is essentially |
| profitable for the business person involved. Further, | | | | a nationally-recognized rating system, agreed on by |
| their structures are set up to be healthy dwellings in | | | | consensus, that seeks to develop sustainable buildings |
| which to live, and healthy buildings in which to work. | | | | that perform at the highest levels. LEED is a set of |
| Membership is varied in its ranks, and includes | | | | standards that can be applied individually to all unique |
| developers, architects, general contractors, agencies | | | | building types, as noted above. LEED places great |
| of the government and other nonprofit organizations. | | | | emphasis on "state-of-the-art strategies" for green |
| What Does LEED® Mean and Who Gets Rated? | | | | and sustainable development of building sites. This |
| LEED's "Green Building Rating System(TM)" attempts | | | | includes but is not limited to the following: efficient |
| to certify and push the advancement of a | | | | energy use, water use, selection of green materials |
| planet-wide implementation of green building and | | | | and careful choosing of resources, and the quality |
| development practices. Their goal is to accomplish this | | | | levels of indoor environments. |
| through the creation of a universal set of tools and | | | | LEED serves builders, owners and designers alike -- a |
| performance standards. | | | | rating tool that is practical and user-friendly in nature, |
| LEED has certification and performance standards for | | | | a manner by which green building design and |
| divisions of building such as "New Construction," which | | | | construction might be implemented and held to the |
| is designed to foster the growth of and distinguish | | | | highest of standards. Best of all, the results are |
| commercial projects and new institutions conforming | | | | immediate and universal when the LEED ratings |
| to green building practices at the highest levels; for | | | | standards are used. |