Leed Commercial

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in the late 1990s to bring accountability and recognized standards to the emerging green building industry. LEED has become the country’s most prominent green building certification program; hundreds of buildings have been certified and over 5,000 are in process. In New Hampshire, there are currently eleven LEED certified buildings and at least thirty registered.

LEED addresses all aspects of building design and construction. It is a point-based system divided into six categories:

LEED Silver - Gary Hall Photography

Sustainable Sites Water Efficiency Energy and Atmosphere Materials and Resources Indoor Environmental Quality Innovation and Design, a category that allows for exemplary performance and creative efforts

Projects must meet one or more prerequisites in each category and then accumulate points by meeting requirements for optional credits. The more points a project earns, the higher its rating – LEED buildings can reach the Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum level.

There are several different LEED programs. By far the most frequently used is LEED for New Construction and Major Renovation, but the new LEED for Homes program is likely to gain ground quickly. The other main LEED programs are Existing Buildings (operations and maintenance); Core and Shell, for structures that tenants will fit out independently; and Commercial Interiors, which is designed for tenant spaces within buildings that may or may not be LEED certified.

Buildings can certainly be green without LEED certification, but the third-party verification and international recognition LEED offers are compelling reasons to pursue certification. In addition, LEED helps keep project teams accountable to green standards when difficult decisions are made during design and construction.

While most Jordan Institute clients choose to pursue LEED certification, we would be happy to work towards any other certification goal (Green Globes, used frequently in Canada, is one example) – and are always pleased to work with clients who simply want high performance and don’t care if they earn a plaque for their effort.

For more general information about LEED, see the USGBC web site. To inquire about the Jordan Institute’s LEED consulting services, contact Paul Leveille.