The U.S. Green Building Council first published the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) in the mid 1990s. The LEED rating systems were developed to evaluate the environmental impact of buildings based on energy use and materials used during construction. The Green design helps to improve the quality of buildings and their impact on the environment. It is a national accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of high-performance green buildings.

The LEED rating system consists of 6 categories. Each category carries a possible point rating for a total of 69 possible points:

Projects are rated according to the points they receive and are classified into one of four classes:
• Certified 26-32 • Silver 33-38 • Gold 39-51 • Platinum 52-69

 
Project Checklist

Sustainable Sites (SS)	14 Possible Points
Water Efficiency (WE)	5 Possible Points
Energy and Atmosphere (EA)	17 Possible Points
Materials and Resources (MR)	13 Possible Points
Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)	15 Possible Points
Innovation and Design Process (ID)	5 Possible Points

 

Sources:

UNITED STATES GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNews.aspx?CMSPageID=158

LEED for New construction & Major Renovations, Version 2.2, October 2005