Breaking Down USGBC’s Top 10 LEED States List

With the shifting priorities of the new administration, putting sustainability and emissions reduction at the federal level somewhat in jeopardy, it’ll be up to the state and local levels, as well as the private sector, to continue the green momentum of the past several years.

And therefore it’s important to recognize past success to ensure future progress. The U.S. Green Building Council recently released its annual Top 10 list of LEED states. This year’s list is interesting for a few reasons.

For one, let’s just say Massachusetts has a lot to celebrate. On top of the Patriots historic Super Bowl win last Sunday, Massachusetts ascended to the top of this year’s list, supplanting Illinois which had been the leader for the previous three years. (But Illinois, which is third this year, along with Colorado, which is second, are the only states to be on the list every year since USGBC began tabulating results in 2016.)

Once again, LEED for Operations and Maintenance was the rating system with which the most square feet was certified, representing 53 percent of all certified space from states in the Top 10 list. That’s up from 49 percent in 2015, meaning that LEED O+M adoption is still growing quickly!

This Quick Read was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, Editor of Building Operating Management, greg.zimmerman@tradepressmedia.com. Read his cover story about GSA’s sustainable success in five key areas.

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