Projects in 114 Countries Now Comprise 27% of LEED Certified Square Footage. WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International builders are increasingly adopting the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating System -- the United States' primary tool for green building -- with international projects now comprising 27 percent of LEED certified and registered projects. LEED projects are underway in 114 nations, with a particularly strong presence in Norway, Finland Sweden and Denmark. "Currently there are 43 LEED projects under construction in the Nordics, where their commitment to consensus and collaboration mirrors exactly how LEED works best," said U.S. Green Building Council's Vice President of International, Tim McEnery. "Growth of LEED adoption in the Nordic region is accelerating: 36 projects have registered with LEED so far in 2009. With the increase of interest in the Nordic countries, we're confident that LEED will be a tremendous tool to add to the leadership in sustainability that the Nordic countries embody." By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community. Interest in LEED is strong because it is more than a rating system, but an entire support program for helping owners and operators green their complete building portfolios. The LEED program applies to new construction, existing buildings, interiors, residential and neighborhoods, and has special applications for schools, hospitals, retail and hospitality sectors, underscoring its flexibility. McEnery pointed to the success LEED has already had around the globe in countries such as India, Canada, Italy and Brazil. "The adage about thinking globally and acting locally is the exact kind of framework that is needed if we are to aggressively address the role of the built environment in climate change. LEED provides the market with a framework to harmonize global best practices, metrics and protocols," added McEnery. Green building is being rapidly adopted in both the residential and commercial sectors. The USGBC's LEED program is widely viewed as having been the catalyst for this growth because it serves as an essential, proven tool for enabling this market transformation. It provides a concise framework for best-practices in high-performance green building design, construction and ongoing operations, a critical part of sustaining high performance. Equally important is the independent, third-party verification that a building meets these high performance measures. This ensures that buildings are constructed as designed and that they perform as expected. This role is performed for USGBC by the Green Building Certification Institute, which provides third party confirmation through coordination with global certification bodies like DNV (Det Norske Veritas). Since 2001, LEED has provided building owners and operators with an objective, verifiable definition of green, along with design and measurement tools with the reliability and integrity they need to have an immediate, quantifiable impact on their buildings' performance.
