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United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
Established in 1993, the USGBC is a coalition of building industry leaders who work to promote environmentally responsible and profitable buildings that are also healthy places to live and work. One of the first programs developed by the coalition was the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program which provide guidelines and recognition for Green buildings.
The USGBC established the LEED certification for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) in 2004. LEED-EB lists a set of standards that cover building operations and systems upgrades in existing buildings where the majority of the interior or exterior surfaces remain unchanged. When it comes to greening your cleaning operations, LEED certification requires much more than just switching from traditional to green cleaning chemicals. According to the USGBC, LEED-EB focuses on seven major areas:
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Facility Cleaning & Maintenance, including Chemicals
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Indoor Air Quality
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Energy Efficiency
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Water Efficiency
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Recycling Programs
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Exterior Maintenance Programs
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Systems Upgrades
In order to become certified, a project must provide documentation showing that it meets certain requirements. The following is a list of the USGBC point ratings:
Certified: 32-39
Silver: 40-47
Gold: 48-63
Platinum: 64-85
Since its inception in 1993, LEED has grown to encompass over 14,000 projects in 50 US States and over 30 countries worldwide.
Major Benefits of LEED-EB Certification include:
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Buildings enjoy government incentives, marketing benefits and increased property values.
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LEED standards create improved indoor air quality and reduce potential health problems like allergies and other employee sensitivities.
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A healthier environment which increases worker satisfaction, improves morale, reduces absenteeism and increases productivity.
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Green Programs reduce a buildings strain on the environment including features like air and water pollution reduction, energy and water conservation, recycling, reduction of raw material usage, and also hazardous chemicals are replaced with eco-friendly chemicals.
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Reduce liability from worker safety issues.
Community Recognition and listing with the USGBC.
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