Encouraging Leadership Energy and Envrionmental Design by Green Building Technology

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L.E.E.D. stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), this program is designed to inform and guide all kinds of professionals who work with structures to create or convert spaces to environmental sustainability. This includes architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, private sector executives and government officials. Proposals to modify the L.E.E.D. standards are offered and publicly reviewed by USGBC's member organizations, which number almost 20,000. From 1994 to 2006, L.E.E.D. grew from one standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. L.E.E.D. also has grown from six volunteers on one committee to more than 200 volunteers on nearly 20 committees and nearly 150 professional staff. L.E.E.D. standards have been applied to more than 7,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries, covering more than 1.5 billion square feet of development area. One example of these projects is 1225 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., is the first redeveloped office building on the U.S. East Coast to receive L.E.E.D. Platinum status.
Participation in the LEED program was designed to be voluntary and can be applied to any building type at any construction phase, although in recent years this program has been used as part of the building code and permit process and thus being made more mandatory as discussed below. L.E.E.D. certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. For most projects, there are four levels of LEED certification, depending on how man...

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...al Construction Review which is also optional reviewers will evaluate clarifications submitted for credits reviewed in the Preliminary Construction Review. After submitting your application, Certification is the final step in the L.E.E.D. review process. There are four levels of certification, the number of points a project earns determines the level of L.E.E.D. certification that the project will receive. Typical certification thresholds are: certified; which is 40-49 Points, silver; which is 50-59 Points, gold; which is 60-79 Points, or platinum which is 80 Points or above.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
In my opinion a building should be L.E.E.D. certified because L.E.E.D. is all about design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Green buildings are more energy efficient and overall save you money.

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