LONDON—The United States is leading the way in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green buildings, according to new research by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
As the country that set up the LEED initiative, the United States is a natural leader in constructing green buildings, with 124,212 LEED-certified buildings—the most overall in the world. Competition to be the best green building country is tough. China has over 100,000 fewer green buildings than the United States, with 5,678. However, they still come in second place for the most green buildings. In third place is Canada with 3,066 green buildings.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) reports that 40 percent of worldwide energy usage comes from the construction industry, with it estimated to increase by 1.8 percent by 2030. With that said, business owners can now achieve LEED certification, which recognizes healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.
However, having an abundance of green buildings which can be enjoyed by as many of the population as possible is important. To put the buildings in each country into perspective, Uswitch compared the numbers to every 100K of the population. The top five countries with the most green buildings per 100K population: Cayman Islands, 202; Guam, 54; United States, 38; Qatar, 10; and Canada, 8.
Many Types of Buildings LEED Rated
Characteristics of a green building include being near public transport to reduce carbon footprint, efficient use of water to reduce the building’s water usage, recycling systems, as well as air cleanliness and noise pollution. There are different types of buildings that are LEED-rated and are leading the way in sustainability, from the likes of education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial and residential buildings.
The following cities are leading the way in green construction (% of buildings that are green): Prague; Stockton, Calif.; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Manhasset, N.Y., and Fort Polk, La.
All of the industrial buildings in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, are green-certified. Nearly all (98 percent) of Prague, Czech Republic’s LEED-certified buildings are used for offices. Following this, 75 percent of healthcare buildings in Manhasset, N.Y., are green.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com comments: “Sustainability is at the forefront of many peoples’ minds nowadays, so living or working in a city that has an abundance of green buildings can be a big selling point.
Find out which countries are leading the way with green buildings here.
