LEED® standardsArticle Free Pass LEED® standards, in full
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, a
certification program devised in 1994 by the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC; founded 1993) to encourage sustainable practices
design and development by means of tools and criteria for
performance measurement. It is “a voluntary, consensus-based,
market-driven building rating system based on existing proven
technology.” The USGBC has established standards for new
construction and major renovation as well as existing
structures; their standards can be applied to core and shell and
to commercial interiors—i.e., the core and shell alone can be
certified with no requirement that the interior be so certified.
Many building types—schools, offices, retail, health care
facilities, and private residences—have been addressed, and
standards for neighbourhood development are also in progress.
The five critical areas of focus, as laid out by the USGBC, are
“sustainable site development, water savings, en