Illinois reclaimed its crown as the Top LEED State in 2018, according to the U.S.Green Building Council’s annual list of Top 10 LEED States. Illinois certified 172 projects, comprising more than 68 million square feet of space and landing it on top of the list for the first time since 2015. Illinois easily beat out second-place Massachusetts, which had been No. 1 in 2017, and which certified 122 projects comprising 34 million square feet of space.
Overall, the top 10 LEED states certified 1,826 projects comprising 468.85 million square feet of space. Nationwide, 2,886 total projects comprising 615.27 million square feet of space were certified with LEED.
Nine of the top 10 LEED states also include communities certified with the relatively new LEED for Cities rating system, including Illinois (Chicago), Texas (Austin), and Washington (Seattle).
USGBC expects green building and LEED certifications to continue growing through at least 2021. Data show LEED helps users to connect building design with operations.
Greg Zimmerman is executive editor of Building Operating Management. Read his cover story on how buildings are tackling climate change.
