LEED - U.S. Green Building Council

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

LEED is a classification system for the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of buildings, developed in America in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

It is one of the environmental footprint certifications for the most important constructions at an international level. Over 150,000 projects have been evaluated, over 85.000 buildings have been certified in 40 different countries. The current LEED protocol version is v4.1.

Our internal team dedicated to the achievement of environmental certifications is an integral part of the Energy, Research & Development department. LEED Accredited Professionals (otherwise known as LEED AP) are recognised for their knowledge of the LEED rating, as such they guide the constructive choices of designers in the design and construction stage of the buildings. Our professionals, in fact, are well aware that sustainability certifications require close collaboration within the design team throughout all stages of the project. Since 2017 ESA engineering has been a member of the U.S.   Green Building Council (USGBC), and as such it undertakes to promote and accelerate the spread of a sustainable building culture, guiding the market transformation and raise awareness of public opinion and institutions on the impact that building design and construction methods have on the quality of life of citizens.

The U.S. Green Building Council has developed a system of standards that cover all aspects of the building development and construction process and various types of projects:

  • Building Design and Construction (BD+C)– dedicated to new buildings and Core & Shell projects;
  • Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M)– dedicated to the renovation or upgrade of existing buildings;
  • Interior Design and Construction (ID+C)– dedicated to internal fit-out renovation projects and includes commercial interiors;
  • Neighbourhood Development (ND)– for new territorial development projects or redevelopment projects of ecological neighbourhoods;
  • Home– for individual single or multi-family properties;
  • Cities & Communities– dedicated to certifying entire cities and neighbourhoods of a city;
  • LEED Recertification– it applies to all projects occupied and in use that have previously obtained LEED certification;
  • LEED Zero – applies to all projects certified in the first 2 categories (BD+C O+M) and verifies the actual achievement of the “zero footprint” objectives in CO2 and/or resources

During the certification stage, projects are assigned a score consistent with the green building strategies applied, divided into categories. Based on the number of points achieved, the project reaches one of the following LEED assessment levels:

  • Certified (<50 points),
  • Silver (>50 points),
  • Gold (>60 points),
  • Platinum (>80 points)
Aree classificazione Certificazione LEED

The certification process consists of several stages:

  • Pre-assessment, which evaluates the project or building to be certified and identifies the conceptual guidelines to be followed to achieve the credits. It consists of a private preliminary assessment stage, carried out between the developer (builder/client with their Project Team) and LEED AP consultants;
  • Design phase, in which the project is registered. In this stage, all the documentation relating to the LEED credits that the project is to achieve are collected and produced and are sent to the GBCI assessment commission to receive the project review;
  • Construction stage, in which the project team collects credit information and, once complete, sends all credits met for a review;
  • Certification stage, in which GBCI carries out the final review and issues the official certification of the project with relative score.

We can support you in the LEED Certification process

The LEED sustainability certification process grants significant added value in the real estate market. Furthermore, the LEED Certification introduces relevant sustainability elements into the life cycle of a building, which involve an integrated design policy, sustainable choice of construction materials, energy saving, with the achievement of significant environmental and economic advantages.

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