Natural Resources Term Paper

Nicholas Mellis Paper # 3

Section # 1 Ellen Meyer May 1, 2010

Fostering Investment of LEED certification in the United States

In the United States (U.S.), it is estimated that 48% of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed directly to buildings. (NASRAE) In addition to this, buildings also consume over 15 trillion gallons of water per year and close to 40% of raw materials used globally (3 billion tons annually). Further, the EPA estimates that 136 million tons of building related construction and demolition debris was generated in the US in 2008, compared that to 250 million tons of municipal solid waste. For this reason, the real estate sector has been a primary target for mandatory government regulation and rigorous industry standards in order to reduce the impact which it has on the environment. The greatest example of changes to building standards has been the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) initiative put in place by the United States Green Building Council (USBC). LEED provides a set of standards for environmentally sustainable design, construction and operation of real estate properties.. Already, over 20,000 buildings in 76 countries are currently LEED certified, with the number projected to grow dramatically over the next few years. The investment of LEED certification in both new and existing properties provide environmental, economic and community benefits to a given property.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a set of standards put in place in order to assess both existing properties and existing ones. Developed in 1998 by the USBC, the rating system is driven by 5 main sustainable drivers of both human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. These five drivers influence all aspects of a building, and therefore are used by architects and real estate managers to interior designers and landscape...