LEED Retrofits Surpasses New Construction

 Although important to ensure newly constructed buildings are built green, there's currently more than 60 billion square feet of existing commercial buildings in the U.S.  that could be made over.   Greening existing buildings creates jobs, and helps businesses to save money, provide healthier environments for their employees and reduce their carbon footprint.  

New data shows that in 2011, buildings retrofitted to be LEED certified exceeded buildings newly constructed to be LEED certified by 15 million square feet, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). 

An acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED was developed by USGBC in March 2000 and is an internationally recognized rating system.  

LEED certified buildings are reconstructed, or built to be energy and water efficient, greatly decreasing the building's cost of operation.  The recently LEED-certified Empire State building, for example, anticipates a reduction in energy consumption by more than 38 percent, equaling a savings of $4.4 million annually in energy costs.  They also predict implementation costs will be recovered in three years.   

Buildings that have been LEED certified also include indoor environmental quality improvements, such as better air filtration and use of less toxic cleaning products.  

More than 43 million projects are currently participating in the commercial and industrial LEED rating systems, comprising nearly 8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 120 countries.

Visit USGBC.org to find out how to make your office building, or home LEED certified.

Start cutting energy costs and save money now with CFLs and powerstrips from EcoGreenOffice.  Also, for nontoxic cleaning, and a healthier and safer office environment, EcoGreenOffice has a variety of green cleaning supplies, such as the Simple Green Concentrated Cleaner and nontoxic, all-purpose cleaning wipes. 

You can't make your office building, or home LEED certified overnight.  In the meantime, start creating a healthier office environment with green cleaning products, such the the nontoxic all-purpose cleaning wipes from EcoGreenOffice pictured above.