User:Beyzia/LEED

Around 2010, the Empire State Building underwent a $550 million renovation, including $120 million towards energy efficiency and eco-friendliness. It received a gold LEED rating in 2011, and at the time was the tallest LEED-certified building in the United States.

Although originally constructed in 1973, Willis Tower a commercial office building located in Chicago, adopted and implemented a new set of sustainable practices in 2018, earning the property LEED Gold certification under the LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M™ rating system. This adoption brought Willis Tower to be the current tallest LEED-certified building in the United States.

The USGBC Board of Directors was chaired by Steven Winter from 1999 to 2003. Preceding Steven Winter, USGBC's Senior Vice President of LEED, Scot Horst, became chair of the LEED Steering Committee from 2005-2009 before joining USGBC staff.

Most of the LEED certified buildings prior to 2018, focuses on LEED v3 (2009) or earlier versions; rather than LEED v4 certification that was set to launch in 2012 originally but was pushed back multiple times inevitably releasing in 2018.

The rise in LEED certification also brought forth a new era of construction and building research and ideation. Architects and designers have begun stressing the importance of occupancy health over high efficiency within new construction and have been trying to engage in more conversations with health professionals. Along with this, they also create buildings to perform better and analyze performance data to upkeep the process. Another way LEED has affected research is that designers and architects focus on creating spaces that are modular and flexible to ensure a longer lifespan while simultaneously sourcing products that are resilient through consistent use.

The Manzara Adalar skyscraper project in Istanbul, designed by Zaha Hadid, saw considerable innovation through the use of communal rooms, outdoor spaces, and natural lighting as part of the Urban Transformation Project of the Kartal port region.

Often, when a LEED rating is pursued, the cost of initial design and construction rises. There may be a lack of abundant availability of manufactured building components that meet LEED specifications. There are also added costs in USGBC correspondence, LEED design-aide consultants, and the hiring of the required Commissioning Authority, which are not in themselves necessary for an environmentally responsible project unless seeking LEED certification.

For instance, a building in Maine would receive the same credit as a building in Arizona for water conservation, though the principle is more important in the latter case. Another complaint is that certification costs could be better used to make the project more sustainable. Many critics have noted that compliance and certification costs have grown faster than staff support from the USGBC.

For existing buildings, LEED has developed LEED-EB. Research has demonstrated that buildings that can achieve LEED-EB equivalencies can generate a tremendous return-on-investment.

In Nevada, construction materials for a qualifying LEED building are exempt from local taxes. Pieces of construction that are deemed 'inseparable parts', such as concrete or drywall, qualify. Maryland's High Performance Buildings Act (2008) requires all new public construction and renovations greater than 7,500 sq ft (700 m2) to meet LEED Silver standard or two Green Globes. Between 2009 and 2014, the state is required to fund half of the required additional cost for public school construction or renovation to attain that standard.

Delaware currently has a Green Home Rebate incentive program that provides $1,000 - $4,500 rebates to certain new homes that achieve LEED certification.

Hawaii also features a Priority Permit Processing for Green Buildings which requires each county agency that issues building, construction, or development-related permits to create a policy to provide free priority processing of permit applications for construction projects that integrate energy and environmental design building standards. Such buildings can qualify after being rated at LEED silver or similar a certification.