GBRI Online
GBRI is an online Sustainability Education Provider founded with the belief that the best way to encourage responsible development is to provide resources to the builders, designers and engineers who are crafting our future.
Let us first understand what LEED certification means. LEED is one of the most popular green building certification programs worldwide designed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. We all know that buildings have a considerable impact on our environment, as well as on our health and overall well-being. Buildings use resources, generate waste, and are costly to maintain and operate. Green building is the practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings in a manner that uses fewer resources, minimizes waste and environmental impact, and decreases life cycle costs to achieve increased productivity and better occupant health. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system that provides third-party verification that a particular building or complex was designed and constructed keeping in mind the following parameters.
Now there are four different levels of LEED certification - Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Certified. All projects have to meet mandated prerequisites under LEED categories (Sites, Water, Materials, Energy, Indoor Environmental Quality) before achieving points for certification. 40-49 points earns basic LEED certification, 50-59 points earns a silver-level certification, 60-79 points earns gold-level certification, and 80 points or higher earns platinum certification. The LEED Platinum level certification achieves the highest honor and the LEED Certified level achieves basic, fundamental performance. It should be noted reasons for pursuing a green building certification for a project may vary. Certification can be a valuable educational and marketing tool for owners, designers, and construction teams through the process of creating a more sustainable building. Green building certification can also be a way to provide an incentive for clients, owners, designers, and users to develop and promote highly sustainable construction practices. However, a building does not have to be certified to be sustainable and well-built.
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