The green building industry is strong here in Massachusetts and with every passing month, buildings
come on line that are more environmentally responsible than what was best-practice in the past. Many
of these high-performing buildings have earned LEED certification for their leadership in energy and
environmental design. The U.S. Green Building Council (which manages the certification process)
is represented here by the Massachusetts Chapter. We have a strong tradition in this state of building
science, engineering and architectural research and excellence, both academic and commercial. The
USGBC is a community of green building practitioners who have embraced a process of continuous,
democratic, and science-validated improvement of building science technology and design approaches.
LEED is just one way the green building profession has been able to evolve rapidly to meet the needs
of our society for improved buildings and a more beneficial built environment. Thousands of USGBC
member organizations and almost 200,000 professionals have collectively built a brand that has been
the catalyst for fundamentally changing the way we think about designing, constructing and operating
buildings in the United States and across the globe. The LEED rating system reflects the collective
expertise and design intelligence of environmental advocates and building industry professionals who
have helped to create it.
Thanks to their wisdom, LEED has set clear, measurable performance goals that challenge the
marketplace to build better buildings. The environmental improvements across the board and boom of
innovation in the industry are a return on investment that has benefited this country and beyond. And
LEED has evolved, strengthened and improved over the years. LEED’s performance standards have
been raised and have become more difficult time and time again to challenge the industry to reach a
little higher as the market has advanced. Many entities have recognized the benefits of LEED buildings,
including the State of Massachusetts, the cities of Boston and Cambridge, and Acton, Arlington and
Medford.
What we have built at USGBC demonstrates that a strong economy and a healthy environment can go
hand-in-hand. The progress we have made is brought to us by environmental advocates and the building
industry to include large and small companies, architecture and engineering firms, as well as developers,
builders, home owners, contractors, manufacturers, students, teachers and others who have committed
themselves to this effort. All of these entities are working together to create a rating system that guides
design, construction and operations of buildings in a smart and efficient way so future buildings can save
more energy, conserve water, reduce waste and improve the indoor environment. That is no small feat.
We are encouraged when members and non-members alike develop new tools, cutting edge
environmental innovations and next-generation products and services that support everything we’re
trying to do. With these new products and tools come advancement in design and conservation as well
as economic development. The LEED green building program has spurred explosive growth in energy-
efficient buildings, which has supported almost eight million jobs across all 50 states and contributes
$554 billion to the U.S. economy annually. We are proud of that economic progress.
The best part of LEED is that it is not – and never will be – a tool for mandatory regulation because it is a
voluntary, market-based green building program with deep roots in the private sector. The benefit of this
non-regulatory approach is that LEED is constantly and continuously being improved. It isn’t a perfect
system, and thankfully because of developments in innovation and technology, it has to be updated and
will never be stagnant or complete.
Today, more than 9 billion square feet of building space is participating in LEED because the results are
clear. LEED-certified buildings with lower operating costs and better indoor environmental quality are
more attractive to a growing group of corporate, public and individual buyers. High-performing buildings
are increasingly entering into tenants’ decisions about leasing space and into buyers’ decisions about
purchasing properties and homes.
USGBC has come a long way, and we are proud the measures that were once thought of as impossible or
hard to reach are now industry standard. We will never stop raising the bar.
Grey Lee is the Executive Director at USGBC MA in Boston.