The U.S. Green Building Council has released its list of top U.S. states for LEED-certified projects in 2011.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its 2011 list of top 10 states for LEED-certified commercial and institutional green buildings per capita, based on the U.S. 2010 Census information. The District of Columbia leads the nation, with more than 31 sq ft of LEED-certified space per person in 2011. The District of Columbia, it should be noted, has a mandate for government buildings to become LEED-compliant, which accounts for the much higher square footage.
The top 10 LEED states, ranked by per capita:
- Colorado, 2.74 sq ft
- Illinois, 2.69 sq ft
- Virginia, 2.42 sq ft
- Washington, 2.18 sq ft
- Maryland, 2.07 sq ft
- Massachusetts, 2.00 sq ft
- Texas, 1.99 sq ft
- California, 1.92 sq ft
- New York, 1.89 sq ft
- Minnesota, 1.81 sq ft
"Looking past the bricks and mortar, people are at the heart of what buildings are all about," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. "Examining the per capita value of LEED square footage in these states allows us to focus on what matters most – the human element of green buildings."
LEED is the internationally recognized mark of green building excellence, with more than 44,000 projects commercial projects participating, comprising more than 8 billion sq ft of construction space in all 50 states and 120 countries.
In December 2011, USGBC announced that LEED-certified existing buildings outpaced their newly built counterparts by 15 million sq ft on a cumulative basis. A focus on heightened building performance through green operations and maintenance is essential to cost-effectively driving improvements in the economy and the environment.
A list of recently completed projects to receive LEED certification can be found here.
