Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) & “Green Building” Practices
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a set of principles for environmentally sustainable construction. LEED is an open process, where the technical standards proposed by the committees are publicly reviewed for approval by the membership organizations that comprise the USGBC. There are 4 levels of LEED Certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
LEED was created to accomplish several objectives; among them are:
- To define “Green building” by instituting a common criterion of measurement
- To acknowledge environmental leadership in the building industry
- To encourage green competition
- To transform the building market
- To promote integrated, whole-building design practices
- To raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
The LEED rating system addresses six major areas:
- Sustainable sites
- Water efficiency
- Energy and atmosphere
- Materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
- Innovation and design process
It is clear that the main goals of LEED and Green Building practices are to protect and preserve our environment. However, with careful analysis of the various methods used in constructing “Green”, they may also provide immediate and long-term economic benefits for developers, building owners and occupants. The USGBC states that benefits of building Green include energy cost savings, increased employee productivity, decreased absenteeism and increased property value. Aurora is careful to present not only the costs associated with LEED but the potential benefits as well.
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