USGBC Releases Top 10 States for LEED in 2021
These 10 states showcase how green building is expanding all across the U.S.
According to The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the ranking of its annual Top 10 States for LEED, with Illinois once again topping the list and demonstrating leadership in green building. Illinois certified 3.16 square feet of building space per person under LEED in 2021. LEED is the world’s most widely used green building program and was created by USGBC as a leadership standard defining best practices for healthy, high-performing green buildings.
“Amidst the challenges of 2021, governments, companies and other organizations committed to taking bold actions to protect the climate, their employees and their communities,” said Peter Templeton, president and CEO, USGBC. “Transitioning our buildings to be healthier and more sustainable is essential to meeting these commitments, and we’re proud to recognize states where that work is well under way.”
In 2021, the top 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, certified 1,105 projects and more than 247 million gross square feet under LEED. Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado and Virginia round out the top five, and Utah made an appearance on the list for the first time since 2015.
Despite Washington, D.C., not appearing in the official top 10 list because of its status as a federal territory, it consistently leads the nation in LEED-certified square footage per capita. In 2021, the nation’s capital certified 29.46 square feet of space per resident across 103 green building projects.
https://www.usgbc.org/articles/usgbc-releases-its-top-10-states-leed-recognizing-leaders-committed-more-sustainable-and