LEED certification

True or false: Environmental protection equals higher costs

With LEED, the answer is false. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, measures buildings’ environmental efficiency. In layman’s terms, it makes buildings cheaper over the long-haul.

Here’s the difference. Drive down a busy street at night – what do you see? Empty stores and offices lit up like Christmas trees. During the day, these offices use thousands of gallons of water for irrigation and waste. When it rains, it floods because water has nowhere to go. Heat and air leaks because of poor insulation. Workers wage office wars over the thermostat. And with little natural daylight, lighting costs skyrocket.

Imagine another way of building. Lights automatically turn off during non-business hours, with controls for after-hours use. Rain water is channeled from roofs and used for irrigation. Small groups control their own thermostats. At least 75 percent of lighting comes from natural daylight, and the entryway flooring has metal grates, sifting away dirt and pollen and simplifying clean up.

With LEED certified buildings, environmental safety means saving money. It has four certification levels achieved through a points system. For example, silver certification fulfills 33-38 points. You can get points for:

• using anti-rust paints
• using high-efficiency water fixtures
• building with locally manufactured materials (reduce gas costs)
• and many more cost-effective measures

The result? Highly efficient, sturdy structures – a dream come true in a crisis economy.