LEED and LEED for Retail
What is LEED?
Establishment of the USGBC (United States Green Building Council).
In 1993, a rich cross section of building industry professionals comprised of architects, building owners and industry representatives established a nonprofit organization known as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Understanding the tremendous environmental impact of the building sector, this leadership group understood that a consensus-based system was needed to define and measure what constitutes a “green building” in order for lasting market transformation to become realized and best practices to be embraced. This system became what we now know as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) and is now the most widely used and reputable rating system employed in the industry today.
LEED® Rating System
After extensive research of existing building metrics and rating systems, the first iteration of LEED v2.0 was released for public use in March 2000. As a voluntary, consensus-based, market-driven rating system – LEED addresses five environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation & Design. LEED provides baseline measurements based on market-accepted energy and environmental principles that assist in measuring the performance and health of both existing buildings and new construction. This performance based system awards credits by satisfying criterion called out in each credit category. Various levels of certification are possible based on total credits earned. With continued industry acceptance, the LEED rating system has evolved and the USGBC has created genre specific rating systems (schools, healthcare, etc.) that tailor credits based on subtle differences found in the market place. One example of this is the development of the LEED for Retail rating system.
LEED® For Retail Rating System
The LEED for Retail rating system is a highly anticipated tool in the industry for several reasons. The Retail rating system addresses some of the efficiency challenges found in retail such as energy and light loads as well providing a design tool that understands the temporal nature of retail environments (renovation cycle is typically 3-5 years). This rating system is aligned with LEED v2.2 NC and v2.0 CI and addresses the same five categories: Sustainable Sites, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation & Design with different credit weights based on the promotion of best practices in retail. This rating system will be aligned with v3 of LEED and is expected to be publicly launched spring of 2009.
The Matworks will assist its retail clients with some of the specific credit requirements found in LEED specific to the Materials & Resources section as well as some of the Indoor Environmental Quality credits. Additionally, The Matworks has developed a reclamation program that will assist with construction and demolition waste diversion through its Green Diamond Program, which may also assist retailers with earning an Innovation and Design credit. Please see our LEED Credits by Product or Matworks LEED Credit Summary for product specific information.
For further information on LEED credit compliance or the Green Diamond Program, please contact your local representative @ 1.800.523.5179
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