• LEED project coordination and documentation
• Design charrette facilitation
• LEED surveys – short feasibility assessment of project for LEED certification potential
• LEED audits – full evaluation of concepts/designs/plans for determining potential LEED certification level
• LEED Professional Accreditation Exam training for new construction

Sustainable design (also referred to as “green design,” “eco-design,” or “design for environment”) is the art of designing physical objects to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. It ranges from the microcosm of designing small objects for everyday use to the macrocosm of designing buildings, cities, and the earth’s physical surface. It is a growing trend within the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, industrial design, and interior design.

The essential aim of sustainable design is to produce places, products, and services in a way that reduces use of nonrenewable resources, minimizes environmental impact, and relates people with the natural environment.

Sustainable design utilizes tools such as lifecycle assessment and energy analysis to evaluate the environmental impact and provide information about various design choices.

Buildings consume 70% of the electricity load in the U.S.
[U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)]
The most significant factor contributing to CO2 emissions from buildings is their use of electricity. Commercial and residential buildings are tremendous users of electricity, accounting for more than 70% of electricity use in the U.S.

Buildings account for 38% of CO2 emissions in the U.S.
(USGBC)
The commercial and residential building sector accounts for 38% of CO2 emissions in the U.S. per year, more than any other sector.

Green buildings provide abundant opportunities for saving energy and mitigating CO2 emissions
(USGBC)
Building green can reduce CO2 emissions while improving the bottom line through energy and other savings.

Industry
The U.S. construction market in 2001 (includes commercial, residential, and industrial) represented 20% of the U.S. economy.
(National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science and Technology Council: Construction Industry Statistics, 1995.)

Waste
The EPA estimates that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) debris was generated in the U.S. in a single year.
(U.S. EPA Characterization of Construction and Demolition Debris in the United States, 1997 Update.)

Compare that to 209.7 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the same year.
(U.S. EPA Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 1997 Update. Report No. EPA530-R-98-007.)

Materials
Construction and demolition waste constitutes 40% of the total solid waste stream in the U.S.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED programs include:

• New (commercial) construction and major renovation
• Core and shell development projects
• LEED for retail
• Neighborhood development
• Commercial interiors projects
• LEED for schools
• Existing buildings: operations and maintenance
• LEED for healthcare
• Homes
• Guidelines for multiple buildings and on-campus building

For more information, visit http://www.usgbc.org.