US certification programme for sustainable buildings
Having been developed in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) the LEED building classification programme has evolved to become one of the most important, voluntarily quality examinations of the world in the industry of environmentally friendly, low-pollutant, low-emission and sustainable building.
LEED is award in the classification of Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
The categories of
- Integrative Process
- Location and Transportation
- Sustainable Sites
- Water Efficiency
- Energy and Atmosphere
- Materials and Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)
- Innovation
- Regional Priority
are considered for the different building types of
- Building Design & Construction
- Operation & Maintenance
- Interior Design & Construction
- Building Design & Construction
- Neighbourhood Development
Credits are awarded in the individual categories. Based on the total number of credits, a building project receives one of the four LEED rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
EQ Credit Low-Emitting-Materials
The requirements of the programme in the area of low-emission products (categorie: indoor air quality) are based e.g. on US standards like CDPH standard method (formerly: California Section 01350) and BIFMA for (office) furniture.
In addition, German AgBB scheme (tests following EN 16516) is now also recognised for LEED building projects, taking into account the formaldehyde value according to the French VOC regulation with the A+ classification.
Coatings and adhesives are also subject to testing requirements under South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1113 and Rule 1168, respectively, which are based on US EPA M24, M313 and ASTM 2369 test methods, among others.
Since 2015 eco-INSTITUT-Label is approved as quality label in the context of LEED programmes’ EQ Credit Low-Emittung Materials. eco-INSTITUT is an accredited testing laboratory for the above-mentioned standards.
eco-Clip: Introduction to LEED
Subject to change without notice; last edit: July 15th, 2021.
