If you’re an architect, designer or construction material specifier, your customers are probably asking more questions about LEED® – Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design.

What is LEED?
The LEED Green Building Rating System™ encourages businesses to use sustainable green building and development practices – in other words, to meet human needs while also preserving the natural environment. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED focuses on five key areas of human and environmental health:

• sustainable site development
• water savings
• energy efficiency
• materials selection
• indoor environmental quality

Based on a 69-point rating system, the four certification levels for LEED construction include LEED Certified (26-32 points), LEED Certified Silver (33-38 points), LEED Certified Gold (39-51 points) and LEED Certified Platinum (52-69 points).

Why is LEED important?
By constructing new buildings or making changes to existing structures using LEED guidelines, businesses can significantly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Other benefits to healthier buildings include lower operating costs, greater ability to attract and retain skilled workers, and potentially higher property values.

According to Frank Lockhart, business development manager for SPX’s Marley Engineered Products brands, LEED is becoming increasingly important for the construction industry. “As a result of LEED, many A&E (architectural and engineering) firms now focus their building designs to use recyclable materials, maintain high indoor air quality and use energy more efficiently,” he says. Business groups like the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) offer guidelines on how architects, designers and engineers can design and write specifications for buildings to generate points in the LEED rating system.

More information
SPX Cooling Technologies, Water Resources
Green Building Research White Paper, Building Design + Construction
A LEED ratings breakdown