The LEED Certification Program

A LEED certified project is one that follows the green building certification program that has been set in place by the U.S. Green Building Council. The main goal of the USGBC in developing this program was to help building owners and the operators be more responsible with the environment that we live in and to efficiently use our resources. It dictates through a detailed point system the degree of certification that your building will receive credit for and the designation of certified, silver, gold, or platinum that your building has received. The LEED certification program has greatly changed the outlook of building construction from the past and is greatly influencing how buildings are and will be constructed in the future.
There are many different advantages that this program has brought to the building owners and especially to our environment. LEED certified buildings help the owner gain a growing number of different state and local government incentives that can boost profits, as well as tax deductions on the different materials and savings incurred by their building. Green building construction has also drastically cut down on the resources that we have been consuming for years, which will save on the resources that will be available for future generations. The major disadvantage involved with a LEED constructed building is the initial startup costs for design and construction of the building can be drastically increased. Also the time factor and scheduling of the project could take longer due to lack of availability of some of the LEED specific materials needed during construction. Some of the various sustainable materials that can be used to become LEED certified are solar panels, wind mills, water efficient fountains, r...

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...rogram that lists all the certified projects across the globe that practice green building construction.
LEED is building the future of our construction field and it is growing rapidly. Green building through LEED is bringing about lifetime of returns that start with lessening operation costs, reducing energy, and decreasing water bills as much as forty percent. Businesses across the world are using LEED to increase the efficiency of their buildings as well as freeing up resources that can be used elsewhere to create new jobs, expand building operations, and investing in up and coming technologies. Green building technologies are drastically shaping how buildings are constructed making them more stimulating to look at as well increasing the retail values of many homes. LEED certified projects is the construction of tomorrow and will be for many more years to come.