Why is LEED Important?

LEED which stands for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" was a term coined by US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998 as standard to promote Green buildings which are environmentally responsible buildings and resource-efficient throughout it's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. The main aim of LEED certified building is to reduce waste at the same time make sure the buildings does not contain or leave behind environmentally degrading or harmful materials like asbestos.

So why is LEED important?

As our population is booming, the demand for ever increasing economy like energy and materials are increasing stupendously. Though North America has come long way in recycling, reusing waster materials, most of the emerging economies still are lagging behind in terms of taking sustainability measures. For example China is still lagging behind compared to States in recycling paper - only 30% of paper in China are recycled compared to 75% of paper recycled in US. The demand of energy and materials in emerging economies have been increasing thus putting strain on our environment. For example small emerging country in Middle east, UAE landfills are overflowing because around 120 million tonnes of waste is produced there - enough to fill up three smallest countries in the world and 55% of that waste came from construction. The dump trucks usually have to wait in line for hours to dump waste showing the dire situation caused due to rapid expansion. Sustainability measures have to be enforced in many countries so waste could be reused, less toxic materials used in our industries and construction.

Emergence of LEED

A standard or third party certification program had to be established where professionals are credentialed and buildings certified. LEED has a set of standards that can be applied individually to all unique building types. It has divisions for "New Construction", "Existing Buildings," a set of standards for "Schools,"there are also other standards for "Commercial Interiors," "Core and Shell," "Retail," "Healthcare," etc. LEED rates building in four tiers - Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. LEED exams are held under Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) to qualify professionals of various backgrounds and provide LEED accreditation. There are three levels or tiers of LEED credentials - LEED Green Associate, LEED AP with speciality and LEED Fellow (new in 2010). Some of them like LEED AP require leed exam ever two years for maintenance.

LEED ensures sustainability

Our resources are limited and are being used at faster pace and depleted in short time. We have to ensure that we preserve, conserve and sustain our resources for future generations by playing our roles i.e spreading awareness and knowledge of "living green" to everybody that we know. A greener, more sustainable economy requires a new set of standards and initiatives to ensure sustainability and generation of professionals who are invested in generating and building upon their expertise in green building. LEED ensures it achieves above standards thus preserving our environment for our future generations.

Our resources are limited and are being used at faster pace and depleted in short time. We have to ensure that we preserve, conserve and sustain our resources for future generations by playing our roles i.e spreading awareness and knowledge of "living green" to everybody that we know. A greener, more sustainable economy requires a new set of standards and initiatives to ensure sustainability and generation of professionals who are invested in generating and building upon their expertise in green building. LEED ensures it achieves above standards thus preserving our environment for our future generations.