LEED Certification

 

 

LEED certification definition

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is widely respected as the pre-eminent green building rating system; with the award certification being viewed — globally — as a marker of sustainability excellence.

 

 

Guide to LEED Certification

Before undergoing the process for LEED certification, certain steps are required to ensure a green building is up to code. Firstly, your building must meet certain minimum characteristics relating to location and size to ensure it can be considered; make sure you tick them all off on your LEED certification checklist. Secondly, you must identify the rating system most appropriate for your building—there are five different systems broken down by types of building.

Then, there are four main steps your project must undergo to get LEED certification.

1. Registration 
2. Application
3. Review
4. Certification

Each step involves rigorous testing of every aspect of your building, but receiving LEED certification represents an enormous boost to your reputation as an active and effective participant in the fight against climate change. 

To know more about each step, read 'A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO ACHIEVING LEED CERTIFICATION' 

 

LEED rating system

The LEED rating program is a four-tiered credit-based system that awards points based on compliance with different aspects of sustainability. The number of points that your project earns determines the level of LEED certification that you will receive.

• LEED Certified™: 40-49 points earned
• LEED Silver®: 50-59 points earned
• LEED Gold®: 60-79 points earned
• LEED Platinum®: 80+ points earned

LEED certification categories

There are 8 LEED categories:

• Innovation & Design Process (11 points)
• Locations & Linkages (10 points) 
• Sustainable Sites (22 points)
• Water Efficiency (15 points)
• Energy & Atmosphere (38 points) 
• Materials & Resources (16 points)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (21 points)
• Awareness & Education (3 points)

 

LEED vs WELL certification 

LEED mainly focuses on the impact of buildings in relation to energy sustainability, while WELL is about optimising the building or project to benefit people's health. To explain the differences easily and concisely, we can describe the programs like this:

• LEED is designed to focus on buildings
• WELL places its focus on people - More info on Health & WELL building certification here

 

Example of LEED certified buildings

King Salman Energy Park – SPARK: SPARK is the first and only industrial city in the world to achieve silver LEED certification, offering infrastructure at international standards for global investors.

36-story Murray Road skyscraper: The design has achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum pre-certification together with the highest 3-Star rating of China’s Green Building Rating Program.

 

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