Module 6: Green Building

Rating Systems

LEED

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) developed the LEED green-building rating system. The most widely used rating system in the U.S., LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system. There are various LEED programs, depending on your building type and phase of construction:

New construction (NC)
Existing building (EB)
Commercial interiors (CI)
Core and shell (CS)
Homes (H)
Neighborhood development (ND)
Multiple buildings and on-campus building projects

USGBC is also developing programs for:

Retail for new construction (NC) and commercial interiors (CI)
Schools
Healthcare
Laboratories

LEED in Atlanta - As of October 2006, Metro Atlanta has 53 LEED™ certified and registered projects totaling more than 13 million square feet.

You can find more information on USGBC and LEED at http://www.usgbc.org/.

P²AD is a corporate member of USGBC and, through our membership, any state employee is also covered. Contact P²AD at 404-651-5120 for the corporate ID necessary to access member resources online.

Energy Star

The U.S. EPA’s Energy Star program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides qualifications for buildings that meet their standards for energy-efficient building design.

Buildings achieving a rating of 75 or higher and that are professionally verified to meet current indoor environment standards are eligible to apply for the Energy Star. Using the program’s portfolio manager, a building owner can get their building’s rating.

You can find more information on Energy Star at http://www.energystar.gov/.

Green Globes

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a nonprofit network of building-industry leaders committed to bringing green to mainstream residential and commercial construction. The GBI believes in building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. It has developed an easy-to-use, less-expensive, and ANSI standard Web-based rating tool called Green Globes.

You can find more information on Green Globes at http://www.greenglobes.com/.