SERVICES

The LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, rating system is a voluntary, national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed LEED to define green building design and to raise awareness of the impact of buildings on the environment.

Buildings within the United States are known to account for:

• 39% of total energy use
• 72% of electricity consumption
• 40% of raw materials use
• 14% of potable water consumption
• 38% of all carbon dioxide emissions
• 30% of all waste generation (136 million tons annually)

Therefore, by utilizing green building strategies, significant economic and environmental benefits can be attained. Specifically, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm) has defined those benefits as:

• Environmental Benefits
  • Enhance and protect biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Improve air and water quality
  • Reduce waste streams
  • Conserve and restore natural resources
• Economic Benefits
  • Reduce operating costs
  • Create, expand, and shape markets for green products and services
  • Improve occupant productivity
  • Optimize life-cycle economic performance
• Social Benefits
  • Enhance occupant comfort and health
  • Heighten aesthetic qualities
  • Minimize strain on local infrastructure
  • Improve overall quality of life

The LEED standard provides a framework for assessing building performance and achieving sustainability goals. The LEED rating system has become the consensus-based process for documenting sustainable building design and construction practices.
 

LEED recognition is important for business owners because it offers significant benefits, which include:

• Recognized and validated leadership in the green building sector
• State and local government awareness and incentives
• A generally healthier workplace for employees
• A more cost-effective work place to operate and maintain

"Green Certified" properties have been documented to save natural resources, save energy, and save money.
 

In conjunction with the construction of the interior of a major retail store within a large shopping mall in Reading, Pennsylvania, the general contractor retained Leed Environmental, Inc. to perform environmental consulting activities to ensure compliance with the USGBC's LEED for Retail Commercial Interiors Pilot Version 1.0. Working with the contractor's on-site manager and employees, subcontractors, and material suppliers, Leed Environmental, Inc. ensured that the proposed building materials were acceptable for use, collected documentation to confirm acceptability, confirmed that acceptable materials were used, and prepared a LEED certification report as part of the retailer's efforts to obtain LEED silver certification. Leed Environmental, Inc. also prepared and assisted in the successful implementation of a Construction Waste Management Plan, a Construction Indoor Air Management Plan, and a Green Housekeeping Plan.

Leed Environmental, Inc. provides consulting services to identify, integrate, and ensure that sustainable design strategies are incorporated into new building construction or existing facilities. Some of the services offered by Leed Environmental, Inc. include:
 

• Investigating LEED criteria for cost and technical feasibility
• Developing LEED rating programs
• Working with the building architect to incorporate LEED criteria into project specifications and to review/approve LEED building requirements
• Working with the building owner, developer, general contractor, and subcontractor to develop plans for implementation of project requirements
• Preparing waste management plans, air management and monitoring plans, and green housekeeping plans
• Overseeing and documenting implementation of LEED credit implementation on the jobsite
• Preparing LEED certification application and responding to inquiries from the USGBC

Early planning for LEED certification can help to avoid potentially expensive changes to the design during the construction phase of the project.
 

LEED is a 110 point-based rating system of buildings developed by the USGBC that encourages and rewards the use of green building and energy-efficient building practices in the construction industry. Points are accumulated within the following eight categories that address different areas of a building's environmental performance:

• Location and Transporation
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation
• Regional Priority

At a minimum, a building must accumulate 40 points to be certified. A building achieves silver certification for 50 to 59 points, gold certification for 60 to 79 points, and platinum certification for 80 or more points.
 

The first step in the LEED certification process is to register the project with the USGBC. A building can earn certification if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve the minimum number of points to meet the certification level. Applications for LEED certification must include registration information, project narrative, LEED project checklist and template, drawings, photographs, and other supporting documentation and information.