I recently received the latest list of LEED certified hotels from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). I will be writing about the list in my upcoming Publisher’s Point of View column but wanted to offer a few highlights from the list. First, there are a total of 767 projects listed as “lodging” in the USGBC database. Seventy-one projects have been left off the list because the participants have opted to have their projects remain confidential.
The list is a global list. Countries represented range from China to the United States to Sweden. There are 51 projects listed as LEED Platinum, the highest certification a project can earn from USGBC. Other levels of certification include: Certified, Silver, and Gold.
The first project ever certified was the Kandalama Hotel in Sri Lanka in 2000. The first U.S. project ever certified was the Len Foote Hike Inn in Dawsonville, Ga., in 2004. The most recent hotel project certified: a Residence Inn Marriott, Pittsburgh.
New York City has the most LEED certified projects with 16. The state with the most certified hotel projects is California with 59. Second is New York with 28.
The LEED certified hotel project with the most square footage is the aforementioned Kandalama Hotel at more than 10 million square feet.
I’ve been providing LEED training for the past 12 years and it bothers me that there are not more LEED certified hotels. We’ve made great progress but how can there only be 16 of those hotels in NYC? How can we not have more sustainability focused hotels?
Jon
Everblue
http://www.everblue.edu
Hi Glenn – Can you share more about how you actually obtained the list of Leed certified hotels from the website? Is this publically available?
I obtained the list directly from the U.S. Green Building Council.