WASHINGTON — The US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the Top 10 Countries for LEED, the world's most widely used and recognized green building rating system. The Top 10 list highlights countries outside of the US that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation, illustrating the ever-growing international demand for LEED green buildings. The announcement comes at a time of increased international focus on climate change mitigation in the lead up to the United Nations' COP21 climate negotiations this December. Sweden has one of the world's most aggressive commitments to transforming its national built environment, with a government issued goal of increasing energy efficiency in buildings by 20 percent in 2020 and 50 percent by 2050. Sweden has also made amazing progress in decarbonizing its built environment, with Swedish buildings contributing just 10 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions while still representing 30 percent of all national energy consumption. "Environmental sustainability has become a way of life for most Swedes, who are demonstrating tremendous moral courage and leadership in the world as they seek to develop a more responsible model of living and doing business," said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. "LEED is an international standard of leadership and green economic development, and its rapidly growing popularity in Sweden demonstrates that the country is serious about its commitment to transforming its built environment." The 10 countries that made the list for 2015 are geographically and culturally diverse, representing seven of the world's 20 largest single-nation economies by gross domestic product (GDP) (China, Germany, Brazil, India, Canada, South Korea and Turkey), as well as six of the top 11 emitters of greenhouse gases (China, India, Germany, South Korea, Canada and Brazil). The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries in terms of gross square meters (GSM) and numbers of LEED projects to date. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community. The United States, the birthplace of LEED, is not included in this list but remains the world's largest market for LEED. The U.S. is the world's largest economy by GDP as well as the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Every day, nearly 172,000 GSM of space is certified using LEED, and there are currently more than 69,800 commercial and institutional projects representing 1.23 billion GSM of space participating in the green building rating system. An additional 76,500 residential units have been certified under LEED for Homes. LEED projects can now be found in more than 150 countries and territories across the world. LEED's international popularity is reflective of the exponential growth occurring within the global green building industry. Increasing consumer demand has pushed the world's green building market to $260 billion in 2013, and this industry surge has led to a corresponding increase in the scope and size of the green building materials market, which is expected to reach $234 billion by 2019. Internationally renowned landmarks as diverse as the Empire State Building, the Maracana Stadium and TAIPEI 101 are now LEED-certified spaces that illustrate the impact that sustainable construction and design are having on our shared culture. At a time when the international community is looking to the UN's negotiations in Paris as a historically significant chance to come up with real, binding solutions to climate change, the global popularity of LEED is a sign that a 'green economic miracle' is well within reach. LEED's success demonstrates that there are proven, internationally credible solutions to some of the complex questions surrounding climate change mitigation that can help stimulate economic growth while also avoiding harmful economic disruptions. With buildings accounting for up to 30 percent of global emissions, a commitment to the rapid transformation of the global built environment seems to be one solution that the entire world can get behind. Support for LEED has been growing steadily in Sweden since the first two LEED-certified buildings in the country were announced in 2009. Nearly 90 percent of LEED-certified buildings in Sweden are certified as LEED Gold or LEED Platinum, demonstrating that the Swedish commitment to sustainable building and design is not merely widespread, but that the scope of this commitment is also highly ambitious. LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance was the most popular LEED rating system in Sweden in 2014, with nearly 73 percent of all LEED certifications going to existing buildings. LEED for Building Design and Construction was the second most popular rating system (23 percent), followed by LEED for Interior Design and Construction (4.5 percent). — SG
