Is your Building green? How can you certify it?

LEED® is an international green building certification system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is a third-party verification system that provides a unique tool to building owners and operators. LEED® measures not only how the building was originally designed and built according to appropriate environmental standards, but it also recognizes the building’s performance in different key areas.

Organizations participate in the LEED® initiative as a voluntary effort to innovate through the environment protection. All types of buildings are suitable to get LEED® certified. Once the certification is granted, the building adds value in price and opportunities for government benefits. The advantages are not only for the owners, the tenants also save money in low energy consumption and waste reductions.

Buildings achieve the certification after being measured and rated using a point-based system. LEED® guides and encourages all the necessary actions in order to get the highest level of sustainability. There are seven key areas that are measured and scored according to the environmental impact they have:

1. Sustainable Sites: The building needs to have a low impact on the site that it is occupying. This category considers the degree of development of the land chosen, the impact on the ecosystem and waterways, erosion, pollution, construction-related contamination and transportation systems.
2. Water Efficiency: Water use reduction through smart technologies.
3. Energy & Atmosphere: Utilization of different strategies to reduce the energy consumption. From the efficient design and construction of energy saving systems to the use of clean technologies that provide power to the building.
4. Materials & Resources: Selection of sustainable products used in the construction. Strategies to reduce the waste and encourage the recycling.
5. Indoor Environmental Quality: Use of good indoor air quality, access to natural daylight and improved acoustics.
6. Innovation in Design: Use of innovate strategies and technologies in order to achieve results higher than the LEED® standard.
7. Regional Priority: According to the location of the project, there are different environmental priorities that need to be considered when designing, building and operating a new facility.

The LEED® Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings: Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance sets performance standards for certifying the operations and maintenance of an existing commercial or industrial building of all sizes. The intent is to promote high-performance, healthful, durable, affordable, and environmentally sound practices in existing buildings. Under this rating system, LEED® has designed different distributions of the points awarded to each of the areas explained above. The first five areas sum up to 100 points and the two last areas provide extra points to a maximum of 110 in total.

The certification is achieved through the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), in order to guarantee the quality of the LEED® certification process.

Going green is necessary and profitable. LEED® certification gives the right framework to achieve the environmental sustainability of any Building.