LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), this program is designed to inform and guide all types of professionals who work with structures to create or convert spaces in an environmentally friendly manner. This includes architects, real estate professionals, facilities managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, private sector executives and government officials. Proposals to change LEED standards are proposed and publicly reviewed by USGBC member organizations, which number nearly 20,000. From 1994 to 2006, LEED changed from a single standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. LEED has also grown from six volunteers on one committee to more than 200 volunteers on nearly 20 committees and nearly 150 professional staff. LEED standards have been applied to more than 7,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries, covering more than 1.5 billion square feet of development space. An example of these projects is 1225 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC, which is the first redeveloped office building on the East Coast of the United States to receive LEED Platinum status. Participation in the LEED program was designed to be voluntary and can be applied to any type of building at any phase of construction, although in recent years this program has been used as part of the building code and permitting process and is thus made more mandatory, as indicated below. LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring the sustainability of buildings. For most projects, there are four levels of LEED certification, depending on how the man...... middle of document ......al Construction Review, which is also optional, reviewers will evaluate clarifications submitted for credits reviewed during preliminary construction. Goodbye. After submitting your application, certification is the final step in the LEED review process. There are four levels of certification, the number of points a project earns determines the level of LEED certification the project will receive. Typical certification thresholds are: certified; which is 40 to 49 points, silver; which represents 50-59 points, gold; which is 60 to 79 points, or platinum which is 80 points or more. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design In my opinion, a building should be LEED certified because LEED is about the design, construction, operation and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. . Green buildings are more energy efficient and save you money overall.