2020: LEEDing and Greening

While the general public will hardly remember 2020 as a great year, some segment of the economy will look back and see a slightly positive result. For example, 2020 revealed the importance of healthy, green buildings in supporting people and communities. Construction and architecture combined to lend a “green” hue to the year.
 
This is found in the annual report of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that lists the Top 10 States for LEED green building. Massachusetts paced the country in 2020 with the most certified square feet per capita. Among the top states, more than 60% of certifications were office, healthcare, higher education, and K-12 projects. USGBC also released a ranking of states with the most LEED professionals and here California took the top spot. The 2020 rankings represent 1,171 certified LEED buildings and spaces, and more than 100,000 green building workers.
 
USGBC notes that 2020 was a stark reminder that the quality of our buildings impacts the quality of our life. Looking ahead, people want to trust that the spaces they occupy are good for them and their communities, and LEED is a tool to support those goals. While offices, education, and healthcare projects accounted for a majority of certifications, warehouses, distribution centers, multifamily, and retail projects represented almost 20% of the certifications. Not only that, almost half of all projects were certified Gold, indicating a commitment to a high level of certification.
 
The Top 10 States for LEED green building list is based on gross square feet of certified space per person using 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional projects certified in 2020. The full top 10 state rankings are as follows:
 
Top 10 States for LEED Green Building in 2020
 
The global green building community is continually improving LEED to ensure it helps buildings, communities, and cities to be more sustainable, healthy, resilient, and equitable. More than two-thirds of LEED credits support human health, as the rating system addresses ventilation and filtration, daylighting, low-emitting materials, access to outdoor spaces, acoustics, and other key factors. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USGBC also introduced Safety First guidance to address operational challenges and assist with each state’s re-entry planning.
 
LEED’s foundation, however, is in its commitment to help the building sector reduce its contribution to climate change. Certification communicates progress in support of climate and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) commitments and the goal is to get more buildings on a path to certify.
 
Using Arc to track performance, USGBC is tracking nearly 56 million metrics tons of greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy and transportation, and more than 167 billion gallons of water. The data show that LEED projects deliver significant reductions in emissions and improvements in occupant experience—and the benefits increase with higher levels of LEED certification. The latest version of the rating system, LEED v4.1, raises the bar on green building performance, defining the latest sustainability standards while enabling project teams to continue to track progress beyond certification.
 
Since 2018, more than 25 projects globally have certified LEED Zero, which recognizes net zero performance in buildings and spaces. LEED’s third-party certification is the industry’s dominant green building standard and LEED Zero expands on that work verifying achievements in net zero carbon, energy, water and waste. It focuses on a higher level of green building performance.
 
Transforming the building sector to be more sustainable requires a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. This workforce is contributing to the development and advocacy of LEED and is being quickly embraced by the next generation workforce and decision makers. USGBC has been committed to cultivating and supporting green building professionals through its credentialing and certificate programs. USGBC has a Top 10 list recognizing states with the most LEED green building professionals.

Original Aritcle: https://constructech.com/2020-leeding-and-greening/