U.S. green buildings: number of LEED-certified projects 2000-2019

The number of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registrations has steadily increased since its implementation in 1993. As of October 2019, the number of LEED registrations in the United States had reached about 69,066. The development of LEED was started by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) scientist, Robert K. Watson and quickly found support from various organizations, including the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization that continues to offer accreditation and develops the program. Since the establishment of the LEED certification, there has been a number of green building certifications recognized across the United States.

LEED certification

LEED is one of the most commonly used green building rating systems in the world. It is available for a wide variety of building project types and acts as a framework to guide health, energy efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. In order to earn the certification, the project must comply with mandatory prerequisites as well as various other optional credits. Several different types of rating systems have been implemented since the establishment of LEED, including the LEED for Homes Rating System, LEED energy modeling, and the basic LEED NC rating system.