OVERVIEW OF THE LEED FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS RATING SYSTEM
LEED is a rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council. The rating system outlines important sustainable design features that commercial buildings should incorporate, and provides a scoring system to rank success. The rating system is available on the USGBC website: www.usgbc.org/Leed/Rating-systems. LEED does a good job of outlining the important aspects of green design applied to commercial buildings. Where a building is located is an important con sideration. How a building uses water and how much water it uses will become more important as population increases. Minimizing energy use is obviously a primary concern. Material choices must balance embodied energy, recycle content, and durability. And finally, indoor environmental quality is very important to the people who occupy a building. LEED creates a list of features under the headings mentioned above. Each of the items in the list has points related to it. The total points earned by a design grades the design as certified, silver, gold, or platinum. This grading system is not perfect but it does create a clear definition of green. The discussion below is based on the LEED 2009 rating system. The LEED green rating system is adjusted every few years but the basic structure stays stable.