Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

What is LEED?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods, which aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently. 

This provides third party verifications that a building or community was designed and build using strategies aimed at improving performance across energy saving, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to resource impacts.

How Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) contribute to LEED

 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are internationally recognized transparency reports detailing how a product impacts the environment throughout its life cycle. This seminar will help you understand the application and value of EPD in green buildings, and guide participants to think about the information during the entire life cycle of a products acquisition, production, transportation, consumption, and final disposal. 

An EPD discloses aspects of the product's environmental impact and is widely used in the green building and construction materials industry. Some local and international regulations also use EPDs as a market entry threshold for products, such as the LEED green building assessment system in the United States, China's green building material inspection standards and California’s Buy Clean California Act. For those who want to earn LEED material credits, selecting materials with EPDs is an easy way to understand the environmental impact of product selections.