LEED Rating System Categories

The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) Rating System is designed for rating new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings. It evaluates environmental performance from a “whole building” perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a green building. LEED™ is based on accepted energy and environmental principles described here.

These criteria were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) who maintains a list of registered and LEED™ certified green buildings and awards certificates for the various levels of certification.

LEED divides green building practices into five major categories as indicated above, all of which are essential, if a building is to be considered “green.”