LEED & the Modern Green Building

In the architectural and building management world the concept of a green building and sustainability are nothing new. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, one of the most well-known green programs, was started in the early 2000's, but how we perceive and evaluate a green building continues to evolve. Today, there are a variety of green building standards to improve the carbon footprint and efficiency of building constructioon and operation.

Now, to create a truly sustainable building the goal is to not only have a net zero impact on the environment, but to create healthier spaces for the building occupants. Each green building concept is geared towards minimizing impact and evaluating every point of environmental harm from design stage to throughout construction. Building sites, systems, and materials are all considered in scoring the building's impact on the environment and health.

LEED, is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green building. LEED certificaton ensures electricity cost savings, lower carbon emissions and healthier environments for the places we live, work, learn, and play. The program's global sustainability agenda is designed to achieve high performance in key areas of human and environmental health, acting on the triple bottom line - putting people, planet, and profit first. 

LEED, which is one of the largest voluntary programs for green building, operates off a 4 tier setup; certification, silver, gold, and platinum. Platinum, which is the highest level of certification a building can achieve requires at least 80 points on the LEED scale. 

Impacts on LEED are measured across the following categories; Integrative Process, Location and Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation, and Regional Priority. They are broken down into options for potential points for the project team to achieve.

• Certified: 40 - 49 points

• Silver: 50 - 59 points

• Gold: 60 - 79 points

• Platinum: 80 + points

LEED Platinum Buildings Across the United States

As a manufacturer of products that contribute to Green Building Standards, we publish product specific information to help highlight how we can help achieve a LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, Net Zero, or Passive House certification. Under LEED, Norton mainly contributes to the Materials and Resources category. We have conducted life cycle assessments and developed Product-Specific Type III Environmental Production Declarations to measure the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of many of our products. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED is used throughout the world to build healthy and energy-efficient commercial and residential projects. LEED certification is a symbol of sustainability achievement.

Under LEED's Materials and Resources category, Norton assists in a LEED score by creating durable and sustainable products with long life cycles. When products are at the end of that life cycle there is also a recycling program in place to help in the proper recycling and disposal of the products. For more information on the recycling program, click here.