Use of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is generally voluntary and up to a project development team to determine priorities for enhanced performance. To become LEED certified requires a project to register with the USGBC and to submit documentation as proof of completed building performance.
The documentation submitted is reviewed by the USGBC as a third party to verify that performance goals and claims have been achieved. LEED continues to develop tools for the various segments of the commercial building market, currently offering the following tools:
- LEED NC 2.2 – for new construction or major remodels of commercial buildings or multi-family projects over four floors
- LEED CI – for tenant improvement (commercial interiors) projects not involving an entire building
- LEED CS – for the core and shell portions of speculative commercial buildings where tenancy is not known or not a part of the initial construction
- LEED EB - for existing buildings that retroactively wish to improve and benchmark their sustainable building performance
Each of these tools contains six categories of performance:
- Sustainable Sites
- Water Efficiency
- Energy and Atmosphere
- Materials and Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality
- LEED professional accreditation and Innovation
To provide motivation for higher performance, each LEED tool is structured in four levels of ascending performance and certification:
- Certified (basic threshold)
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
Learn More about LEED
- To learn more about LEED, visit the USGBC's LEED website.
- To learn more about the City of Seattle's incentive programs related to LEED, visit our Incentives & Assistance page.
- To learn more about how the City of Seattle uses the LEED program, see our main LEED page.
For personalized assistance using LEED for commercial buildings in Seattle, contact our Commercial Expert today.
