Oh!  “Lead” as in [leed]: to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.  Not to be confused with “Lead”2 as in [led]: a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal (a topic you could say we have covered on this site a few times).

Chicago Holiday Inn Mart Plaza LEED Gold image by BarryLEED, and printed like that, sounds like “Lead” and stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  It makes for a pretty catchy acronym.  To quote the website usgbc.org: “LEED (as in the program) provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.“

Oh! Both Commercial and Residential.  (It also appears at the Community Development/ Neighborhood level.)

According to friend and LEED Accredited Professional, Roberta Kravette, AKBD, LEED AP ID+C (www.greenkitchensbydesign.com), “The LEED program is fabulous in that it caused builders and designers to begin to think about environmentally responsible design on a wider scale. Thinking about energy conservation and indoor air quality, materials and methods was not just for “tree huggers” any more.”

Again from the website:  “Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000, the LEED rating systems are developed through an open, consensus-based process led by LEED committees . . . .”

And that begs the question, what is the US Green Building Council … (sounds like USGBC)?  It was formed in 1993, and it “promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated.”  Like so many, I guess I always assumed that the USGBC was a government-affiliated agency.  It is not.  It is a non-profit trade organization that, again according to its website, consists of 78 local affiliates as well as nearly 16,000 member companies and organizations.

The current LEED directory, published in 2009, “contains 35,000 projects are currently participating in the LEED system, comprising over 4.5 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 91 countries.”  The next one (directory) is due this year, 2012 (I think).

USGBC currently claims there are 170,000 LEED Professional Credential holders.

Oh! So it is both building certification AND an the accreditation program.  Oh!

LEED Project Registration

Again from the website: “LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.”

Here is the path one would follow to get an “undertaking” certified as a LEED project, qualified in turn to appear in that directory noted above.  (http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/building-certification/leed-certification.aspx.)

GBCI Project Certification Overview

source: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=64

To facilitate these programs, the USGBC partners closely with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) who controls both the process of registration for projects as well as the accreditation of individuals that work on those projects.  In other words, GBCI actually administers the tests, manages the credentialing process for individuals, and registers and reviews projects that are seeking LEED certification.

LEED Credentials and Exam-Taking

There are essentially two distinct types of accreditations in the LEED program: Green Associate (which happens to be a pre-requisite for the second) and the LEED Accredited Professional or AP with a specialty.

Five overarching categories correspond to the specialties available under the LEED AP program. That suite currently consists of:

Green Building Design & Construction

  • LEED for New Construction
  • LEED for Core & Shell
  • LEED for Schools
  • LEED for Retail: New Construction and Major Renovations
  • LEED for Healthcare

Green Interior Design & Construction

  • LEED for Commercial Interiors
  • LEED for Retail: Commercial Interiors

Green Building Operations & Maintenance

  • LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance

Green Neighborhood Development

  • LEED for Neighborhood Development

Green Home Design and Construction

  • LEED for Homes

LEED Gold Archiects + Designers Building New YorkWhen discussing with interior designer and frequent contributor Tammy Dalton (http://www.tamaradalton.net), a Green Associate since Sept. 2010, I asked if her credential has proved beneficial.  Her response: “The direct payout for me getting my (credential) has been that I am able to secure ongoing freelance work on LEED projects, with more to come in the future.”  She attributed some this too to her (business’) USGBC membership, with her LEED credential being an added bonus/credibility-builder.

Final Ratings Buildings/Levels of Certification

Maybe you have seen the emblems as with the few pictures included.  Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum distinctions are awarded based on a point system.  40 and 49 points for LEED Certified. 50 and 59 points for LEED Silver Certified. 60 and 79 points for LEED Gold Certified. More than 80 points is LEED Platinum Certification.  Certification is not guaranteed and only granted at the completion of the project.

For further reading, maybe here >> http://www.envirocitizen.org/article/what-does-leed-mean-what-does-it-do/6121.html or you could always check the USGBC‘s site @ usgbc.org.

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Thanks for reading and thanks both to Roberta & Tammy for assistance with this article.