Eco-building / LEED Certifications

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the U.S. benchmark for the design, build, and operation of energy-efficient and green buildings. LEED projects are currently being carried out in more than 40 countries.

EcoConsulting employs LEED Accredited Professionals who assist our clients in LEED-certifying a construction project and achieving specific ratings.

 -      Background to LEED

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ has been developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and officially launched in 1998 in the US. The scheme has been inspired by the UK-equivalent BREEAM scheme which was created in 1990. 

LEED is a voluntary sustainability evaluation methodology and covers all types of buildings: Offices, retail, homes, residential high-rise, public buildings, commercial interiors, etc. Different customized adaptations of the scheme are available for various building types, as well as major renovations and minor refurbishments.

The scheme which is the most used, especially for International projects, is LEED for New Construction or Major Renovations (LEED-NC).

-          -      About the LEED Scheme

LEED assesses buildings against a wide range of environmental and sustainability issues, covering the following 6 categories:

     - Sustainable Sites
     - Water Efficiency
     - Energy & Atmosphere

     - Materials & Resources

     - Indoor Environmental Quality

     - Innovation in Design

For each issue, one or more ‘credits’ are available when specific levels of performance or process are achieved. In addition, some pre-requisite credits are mandatory for any level of LEED certification.

Overall, 69 points or credits are obtainable in the previous LEED-NC v2.2 version. In the newly introduced LEED-NC v3, the scale has been revised to 100 credits, with an additional 10 points available either for Innovation in Design credits or for Regional credits (for projects within the US only).

The LEED assessment process is characterized by two distinct phases, the Design Phase Review and the Construction Phase Review, whereby the final LEED certificate is only granted by the USGBC at end of construction.
 

   -        How EcoConsulting can Help

For more information about undertaking a LEED assessment, or on detailed advice on how to achieve a target rating, please contact us.

Our team can also assist on designing an energy-efficient building through Dynamic Thermal Modelling and 3D Daylighting Simulations, thus maximizing the number of Energy & Atmosphere credits.