LEED Milestones

by Marcy Marro | October 1, 2021 12:00 am

More than 1 billion square feet. That’s a lot of square feet. That is how much LEED commercial green building space has been recertified under LEED, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED recertification, which is available to all occupied and in-use projects that had previously achieved LEED certification, enables owners to protect their sustainability investments over time. Measuring energy, water, waste and transportation performance, as well as the human experience, LEED recertification provides a data-driven pathway for projects to ensure they are meeting ever-changing goals.

Announced at last month’s Greenbuild[1], the USGBC also celebrated several other LEED milestones achieved this year. In addition to the more than 1 billion square feet of recertified LEED space, there has been nearly 24 billion square feet of LEED registered and certified this year. And, there are currently 110,000 projects participating in LEED, with more than 610 million square feet of LEED-certified residential space.

Moving from building space to cities, USGBC also recently recognized the cities of Las Vegas and San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, for demonstrating leadership in sustainability planning. The cities were selected as part of a call by the organization to solicit comprehensive plans from local governments that are aligned with the LEED for Cities framework and demonstrate best practices in planning.

The LEED for Cities rating system aims to support local governments as they plan and allocate resources and patterns of future development by incorporating sustainability principles into its local plans. More than 110 jurisdictions around the globe are currently LEED certified.

Las Vegas used the LEED for Cities framework to create its 2050 Master Plan, a 30-year comprehensive plan to foster community-driven implementation and improve the quality of life for its residents. Meanwhile, San Pedro Garza Garcia looks to improve the quality of life across its neighborhoods, as part of its required city development plan.

In addition to recognizing these cities the USGBC released a guide for local governments called LEED for Cities: Integrating Sustainability into Planning. The new resource provides guidance and case studies on how cities, towns and counties are using the framework to align and guide sustainability, climate and comprehensive plans.

USGBC also identified other cities that have recently adopted plans aligned with LEED for Cities including Bloomington, Ind.; Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Claremont, Calif.; Northbrook, Ill.; and Houston.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/blog/leed-milestones/

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