Illinois Ranks No. 1 in US for LEED Building Per Capita
Source U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its annual ranking of the Top 10 States in the nation for LEED, the widely used and recognized green building rating system, with the state of Illinois placing first.
The per-capita list highlights states throughout the country that are making impactful strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
The per-capita list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects that were certified throughout 2014. Illinois certified 174 projects representing 42,457,254 sq ft of real estate, or 3.31 sq ft per resident, in 2014.
USGBC calculates the list using per-capita figures as a measure of the human element of green building, allowing for a fair comparison of the level of green building taking place among states with significant differences in population and, accordingly, number of overall buildings.
A sample of certified LEED projects in Illinois in 2014 include:
- NBC Tower in Chicago, recertified as LEED Gold;
- Advanced Protein Characterization Facility at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, LEED Gold;
- 540 West Madison in Chicago, recertified as LEED Platinum;
- Ridgewood High School in Norridge, LEED Silver;
- The Aon Center, a 3.2 million-sq-ft tower in Chicago owned by Jones Lang LaSalle, LEED Silver;
- GE Transportation Headquarters in Chicago, LEED Gold;
- The FBI Regional Office in Chicago, LEED Platinum; and
- The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign’s Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield Hall in Champaign, LEED Platinum.
There are more than 487 USGBC member organizations with a headquarters in Illinois and more than 10,273 LEED credential professionals across the state.
The full ranking of the top 10 states includes:
Rank | State | Projects certified in 2014 | Sq ft LEED certified in 2014 | Per-capita sq footage |
1 | Illinois | 174 | 42,457,254 | 3.31 |
2 | Colorado | 102 | 15,816,498 | 3.15 |
3 | Maryland | 132 | 15,583,423 | 2.70 |
4 | Virginia | 150 | 18,617,712 | 2.33 |
5 | Massachusetts | 99 | 14,662,950 | 2.20 |
6 | Hawaii | 30 | 2,657,808 | 1.95 |
7 | California | 517 | 69,762,936 | 1.87 |
8 | Georgia | 87 | 17,748,781 | 1.83 |
9 | Minnesota | 39 | 9,511,684 | 1.79 |
10 (tied) | Arizona | 82 | 11,152,201 | 1.74 |
10 (tied) | New York | 250 | 33,691,209 | 1.74 |
* | Washington, D.C. | 102 | 17,716,622 | 29.44 |
*Washington, D.C., is not ranked as it is a federal district, not a state.
Collectively, 1,662 commercial and institutional projects became LEED certified within the top 10 states in 2014, representing 251.7 million square feet of real estate. Worldwide, 4,502 projects were certified in 2014, representing 675.7 million sq ft.
More than 26,600 projects representing 3.6 billion sq ft of space have been LEED-certified to date, with another 42,000 projects representing 8.8 billion sq ft in the pipeline for certification.
USGBC launched LEED v4, the newest version of the rating system, in the fall of 2013. The latest version continues to raise the bar for the entire green building industry, which Forbes Magazine projects could be worth up to $960 billion globally by 2023. LEED v4 features increased technical rigor; new market sector adaptations for data centers, warehouses and distribution centers, hospitality, existing schools, existing retail and midrise residential projects; and a simplified submittal process supported by a robust and intuitive technology platform.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
