The LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) was established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide the construction and building industries with a verifiable system to define exactly what a green building is. Using a point system, an eco-friendly building can achieve LEED certification.
The more points a green building accumulates, the more prestigious the LEED Certification. If you think all it takes to get LEED Certified is screwing in a couple of compact fluorescent light bulbs, think again. The USGBC has put in place a set of strict policies and procedures that must be followed. The good news is that there are various ways that a building project can earn LEED certified.
Here are the various LEED Certification levels:
- LEED Certified – 40-49 points
- LEED Silver – 50-59 points
- LEED Gold – 60-79 points
- LEED Platinum – 80 points & over
The Materials Resource Credit 7 (MRc7) is a great LEED credit to plan for.