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Why the focus on Green Buildings?
Green Building includes design and construction practices that reduce or remove the impact of buildings on the environment in five key areas:
- Sustainable site planning
- Safeguarding water and water efficiency
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Conservation of materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
What are the real benefits of Green Building?
- Environmental—Green Building reduces natural resource consumption
- Economic—Green Building can improves a company's bottom line
- Health and Safety—Green Building's can enhance occupant comfort and contribute to their health
- Community—Green Building can minimize the strain on local infrastructures and can improve residents "quality of life"
About the LEED Rating System
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings worldwide.
The mission of the LEED rating system is to:
- Define Green Building by establishing a common and consistent standard of measurement
- Promote integrated, whole-building design practices
- Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
- Stimulate green competition
- Raise consumer awareness of Green Building benefits in the marketplace
Although there are other Green Building rating systems, the LEED rating system is the most widely used in the marketplace in terms of legislative mandates, tax incentives and private sector adoption. The rating system has a designation for every major sector of the building industry.
The LEED system consists of:
| LEED Standard |
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Building Sector |
| LEED - NC |
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New commercial construction and major renovation projects |
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| LEED - EB |
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Existing building operations and maintenance |
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| LEED - CI |
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Commercial interiors projects |
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| LEED - CS |
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Core and shell development projects |
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| LEED - H |
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Homes |
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| LEED - ND |
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Neighborhood development |
Siemens Building Technologies has solutions that apply to four of the LEED rating systems:
- LEED - NC New commercial construction and major renovation projects
- LEED - EB Existing building operations and maintenance
- LEED - CI Commercial interiors projects
- LEED - CS Core and Shell Development
Each LEED standard consists of a series of credit categories and points. Credit categories are consistent across the NC, EB, CI and CS rating systems, while the point values vary. The major categories include:
- Sustainable Sites
- Water Efficiency
- Energy & Atmosphere
- Materials & Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality
- Innovation
Within each standard, there are four levels of LEED certification:
- LEED Certified
- LEED Silver
- LEED Gold
- LEED Platinum
Each certification level is based on the total points earned-with LEED Platinum certification for the highest point levels, and LEED Certified for the lowest.
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