The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is an internationally recognized certification system that measures how well a building or community performs across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Since LEED was launched, green building has become firmly established in the marketplace and flourished despite the economic recession.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
LEED is flexible enough to apply to all building types – commercial as well as residential. It works throughout the building lifecycle – design and construction, operations and maintenance, tenant fitout, and significant retrofit. And LEED for Neighborhood Development extends the benefits of LEED beyond the building footprint into the neighborhood it serves. Learn more...
UGSBC NC Triangle Chapter is the on-the-ground force for green building and LEED in the Triangle area and easter region of North Carolina. We are the local voice of USGBC, providing LEED workshops as well as green building tours, networking, and educational events.
LEED Version 3
On April 27, 2009, USGBC launched LEED Version 3 (LEED v3). LEED v3 is made up of three parts:
- LEED 2009 provides technical advancements to the LEED credits and points rating systems.
- The upgrade to LEED Online is faster and easier to use, featuring new help options.
- Certification Model: An expanded certification infrastructure based on ISO standards, administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) for improved capacity, speed and performance.
