As Kermit the Frog once sang, “It’s not easy being green.” Although he was not referring to environmental friendliness, being green is not any easier when Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is the goal.
Developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health including the following aspects: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection and indoor environmental quality, the USGBC states. The council updates the goals for LEED certification every few years and recently postponed the release of the updated LEED v4 standards to allow its stakeholders to fully build out the credit documentation, forms and education, according to the USGBC’s website.