Our buildings use so many materials and so much energy, this is a sector that can benefit from best practices. Globally, the building sector accounts for 39% of all emissions and in urban areas a very high percentage of emissions are tied to heating, cooling, and maintenance.

“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” or LEED created by the US Green Building Council is one of the most well-known energy-efficient ranking systems in the world similar to BREEAM, the European version that was established in 1990. LEED certification is evaluated on commercial buildings, homes, and industrial spaces that build smart and embody strong return on energy investments (EROI), performing well across many sustainability metrics to end up with a favorable Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA). So many acronyms!

Buildings and communities looking to become LEED-certified must undergo multiple verification processes to determine their certification level. The LEED ranking system has four levels starting with Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59), Gold (60-79), and lastly, Platinum (80+ points). Some really cool LEED buildings include Shanghai Tower (China), Vancouver Convention Center (Canada), Bank of America Tower (New York), and Manitoba Hydro Place (Canada). Not only do they look great but they perform well and are made of low impact materials.