Top 10 States for LEED Green Building
400 Million Square Feet of LEED Green Building
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released it’s annual ranking of the Top 10 U.S. States that added the most LEED Certified buildings. While in it’s 11th year, this year’s results were extraordinary. Despite the historic and unprecedented challenges of COVID, more than 400 million square feet of LEED Certified space was added in 2020.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Design, is a green building rating system. Used worldwide, projects earn points toward across several categories by implementing green building strategies. The top U.S. States ranked in order from 1-10 were Massachusetts, Washington State, Illinois, Colorado, New York, Maryland, California, Virginia, Texas, Nevada.
Washington DC Leads in Green Building Per Capita
While Washington D.C. was not ranked because it is not a State, the nation’s capital took top honors for the most green buildings per capita. With 39.53 GSF Per Capita of LEED Certified space, Washington DC is the “greenest” city in America.
As the Clean Energy DC Act continues it’s multi-phase rollout, Washington DC will continue to lead the United States in promoting a sustainable future through green building. After April of 2021, the act requires hundreds of additional properties in the District to meet strict sustainability and energy star reporting standards.
