LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project.  Each rating system groups requirements that address the unique needs of building and project types on their path towards LEED certification. Once a project team chooses a rating system, they’ll use the appropriate credits to guide design and operational decisions.  The green building practices that LEED promotes reduce the negative impacts of construction while achieving a reduction on the operation costs of buildings.

 

There are five rating systems that address multiple project types: Building Design & Construction, Interior Design & Construction, Building Operations & Maintenance, Neighborhood Development, and Homes.

 

To this day, LEED is actively used in more than 165 countries around the world, with more than 50% of the projects registered outside of the US.  The USGBC actively works with the different Green Building Councils from around the world to assign regional priority credits specific to each country.  LEED is becoming a comprehensive system that adapts better every day to the needs of countries all over the world, including Costa Rica.

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More information at: https://new.usgbc.org/leed

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