Deciding when you need LEED consulting services can often be tricky for builders or project managers. You can turn to a consultant for advice when you feel overwhelmed by the project’s demands, or ideally, you can turn to a consultant near the beginning of the process before any feelings of frustration or confusion surface.

The role of a LEED consultant, of course, can vary from project to project. They can step in to help with whichever aspects of the project that they are needed for. Essentially, their role is to align the environmental goals of the project with the budget of the project and to increase the health and safety of the facility’s indoor environment for the occupants, while also reducing the operation costs of the facility. However, the steps that the consultant takes to reach those goals can vary from project to project.

For instance, LEED consulting services can be valuable at the onset of the project to determine the target LEED scores or even to determine which LEED certifications the project should apply for. However, if the project manager is familiar with those steps and is comfortable taking them on his or her own, the consultant may not be needed until later in the project’s timeline. They can work with the owner or the design team to ensure that the project contains the required elements and that it will be compliant with the LEED standards. Many project managers find the paperwork of the certification process to be the most onerous. If that describes you, you may wish to have a LEED consultant heavily involved in gathering the correct documentation and doing the right calculations, as well as drafting and submitting the documents to the USGBC.

Earning LEED certification has a number of merits that are both financial and environmental. However, when the entire process is slowed down because of a missing document or a small design inconsistency that can cause the project to take longer to complete and incur more costs. By hiring quality LEED consulting services as soon as they feel that they need them, project managers can avoid these eventualities and keep their project on target and within budget.

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Achieving LEED standards set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000 requires true commitment on the part of a builder, and if there were a holy grail of achievement in meeting such rigorous standards, it would certainly be for the highest LEED level – LEED platinum.

 This year, the USGBC is set to update its standards, dubbing the effort LEED 2012. The LEED certification process developed in 1998 provides independent, third-party verification that a single structure—business or residence—or an entire community was designed and built employing strategies to achieve high performance in key areas including: human and environmental health, sustainability, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Achieving credits based on a 100-point system determines the four levels of LEED achievement: Certified (40-49 points); Silver (50-59); Gold 60-79); and Platinum (80 points and above).

 There are now some 7,000 LEED-approved projects throughout the United States and 30 other countries, covering more than one billion square feet of space. Of those, just over 1,000 have been able to achieve Platinum status. In our home state of Illinois, roughly 30 projects represent a cross-section of building uses — from a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Gurnee Mills to the University of Illinois-at Urbana-Champaign campus boasting of its business instructional facility being so rated.

 Simply put, the reason there are so few Platinum-level buildings to be found is that getting to that level is hard! It’s so hard, in fact, that sometimes one wonders if divine inspiration and intervention might be required to achieve the coveted LEED standard.

 Here in Burnham Nationwide’s home state, one Platinum project extends that concept. In Evanston, Illinois, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation became the first to attain LEED Platinum rating. The American Institute of Architects and the group’s Committee on the Environment also has named it as one of the top green buildings.

 In neighboring Wisconsin, a monastery in Madison displayed its own commitment to Platinum-level standards. The different elements installed in achieving the high designation hint at the breadth of design needed to be called a green building. The centerpiece of such design was the monastery’s geothermal heating and cooling system that was approved for construction by the Benedictine women of Madison. The system uses roughly 40 closed-loop wells at a depth of 300 feet each.

 In addition to the Chipotle’s eatery, synagogue, and five private homes in our home state—three in our Chicago base and one apiece in Elgin and Glencoe—just a few projects have managed to achieve Platinum. Looking through the list gives one the sense of the possible in achieving the coveted standard given the sheer scope of projects. Among those achieving Platinum LEED in Illinois are:

• The 550 West Washington building – Chicago
• The Center for Neighborhood Technology Renovation – Chicago
• Christy Webber Landscapes, Greenworks Office & Storage Building – Chicago
• The office interiors at the Environmental Law and Policy Center – Chicago
• Erin’s Pavilion – Springfield
• The Evelyn-Pease Tyner Interpretative Center – Air Station Prairie, Glenco
• Headquarters of Exelon, including the 55^th floor – Chicago
• The FBI regional office – Chicago
• The Gensler office – Chicago
• The Hidden Oaks Nature Center – Bolingbrook
• The HOK office – Chicago
• Hyatt Center – Chicago
• The Kenmore Senior Apartments affordable housing complex – Chicago
• The McDonald’s corporate world headquarters campus office building – Oak Brook
• McGuire Engineers – Chicago
• Other World Computing – Woodstock
• The Pepsico Chicago Sustainability Center – Chicago
• An office renovation project at Perkins+Will – Chicago
• The Richland Community College Center for Sustainability and Innovation – Decatur
• The Ryerson Woods Conservation Area Visitors Center – Lake County Forest Preserve District, Deerfield
• The Shaw Technology and Learning Center – Chicago
• Tesla Produce – Chicago

With Burnham Nationwide as your trusted partner, you won’t need supernatural guidance in your own quest for LEED designation. Our team of professionals is well versed in all things LEED-related and can help you achieve your own level. Who knows? It might even be LEED Platinum! Contact us via Burnhamnationwide.com or by calling toll free at 800-407-7990, and don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook!

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This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. Green Building Council. Currently the leader of the green building industry, this organization, as you know, is responsible for running and overseeing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings. Projects that have been awarded LEED certification exist all over the world, and to help mark their fifteenth year anniversary, we are including this brief look at USGBC history.

The USGBC was formed as part of a vision. Its founders wanted to improve the way that we live on the Earth. They wanted our buildings to work at sustaining rather than depleting our planet. Part of The USGBC’s fundamental purpose was to make green buildings a cultural norm. Part of their vision was to make green building so commonplace that eventually anyone working on a building project would embrace its methods and technologies.

No USGBC history would be complete without looking at the personal histories of the organizations’ founders. Most interviews with the principals of this organization reveal that these individuals have had a relationship with the environment or with nature that originated during their childhood. The concept of green building has existed since the 1980’s. However, the core of the USGBC was formed in the 1990’s when then president Bill Clinton asked members of the American Institute of Architects to work on greening the White House. Several of the people involved in that project branched off and helped to form the USGBC.

While working on formalizing their building standards and certification levels, they also engaged in a number of community rebuilding projects. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, members of the USGBC went to this city to help with its rebuilding efforts. They were primarily able to focus on the schools in that area, and they helped to rebuild many of them in ways that made them healthier, sturdier, and more environmentally friendly than the buildings that had been destroyed.

After a tornado destroyed Greensburg, Kansas in 2007, the members of the USGBC arrived to help rebuild this small town. They worked to make this city a green model that has been noticed by developers and architects from around the world. USGBC has helped to quantify and define the effects of using green technologies in building. This pragmatic approach has helped many developers to understand the cost and environmental benefits of these technologies, and thus, it has encouraged many developers to embrace these technologies. Over the last fifteen years of USGBC history, they have brought green construction from relative obscurity to its current central role in society.

Now, this organization wants to promote green building at a rate that competes with the speed of global warming. Currently, they claim that only three percent of building efforts are green enough. However, the USGBC is working on ways that they can continue to promote LEED standards on a larger scale. For instance, they are trying to figure out how to create infrastructure elements that can be used to make entire cities greener. Ideally, they want projects to be just as concerned with how people get to their buildings and with the environmental impacts of the areas around their buildings as they are with their own green materials and building technologies.

The ultimate goal of the USBGC is to address two large issues: the effects of the industrial revolution and the effects of the world’s quickly growing population. In order to do that, they must stage not only an environmental movement but a cultural movement. They are searching for universal solutions that can endow people’s lives with meaning while also revitalizing their neighborhoods and improving the environment.

Bob Berkebile, one of the principal architects with the USGBC, has referred to Einstein’s comments about man and nature. According to Berkebile, Einstein identified an adversarial split between men and nature. Einstein claimed that if people were able to break free of this illusion, they will be able to finally see the universe as a friendly place. USGBC history is relatively short. However, their goals are immense, and the organization will undoubtedly be around a long time as they strive to reach their goal of creating sustainability within a generation.

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As leaders in the field of progressive thought, it is no wonder that many colleges and universities are striving to incorporate LEED sustainability efforts into their campus buildings and dormitories. Taking this step allows an academic institution to improve their energy efficiency, conserve their resources, and enhance the environmental quality of their buildings. When a project manager who is working with buildings at a higher institution decides to pursue LEED certification, they have several avenues that they may work within.

When working on new construction or major renovations, they may apply for LEED-NC. That kind of project on a college campus can, of course, apply for and receive credits within the five LEED categories: Sustainable Site, Water Usage, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality. However, most project managers will discover that they will also be able to also achieve a lot within LEED’s sixth category: Innovation and Design. This category allows the project manager to explore environmental categories like education and community enhancement. These categories can be uniquely dealt with on a college campus.

LEED certification can also be invaluable when applied to existing buildings. The LEED-EB certification is ideal for dormitories. This certification helps buildings become better stewards of the environment, but it also helps them become healthier places for their occupants. This is especially relevant when considering older structures like dorms that were built decades or even a century ago. Because students live in and spend much of their time in these buildings, campus directors should look closely at how they can be improved.

However, making a campus more sustainable does not just lie in the realm of changing individual buildings. In fact, a lot of LEED credits can be earned by implementing new campus-wide efforts. College and universities can apply sustainability efforts to the entire life cycle of their campus. They can draft plans that address everything from the campus’s master development plans to the campus’s operations and maintenance.

The goal for any university or college should not be to create one new LEED certified building or to make one old building greener. Ultimately, their goal should be to institutionalize the LEED sustainability efforts and reduce the campus’s carbon footprint overall.

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When people ask “what is LEED certification?”, they can expect a few different answers. Basically, it is divided into four levels across several different categories. Projects earn points for using sustainable sites, using water and energy efficiently, using certain materials or green resources, and creating high-quality indoor environments. Each project is eligible to earn a total of 100 points in these categories with a possible 10 bonus points that are awarded for innovative tactics and regional priorities.

The number of points that a project earns determines their level of certification. There are four certification levels: certified (40 to 49 points), silver (50 to 59 points), gold (60 to 79 points) and platinum (80 points or more). When a project earns the platinum level, all of their certification fees are refunded. However, every project earns points in a different way depending upon which type of certification they are applying for. In the following nine sections, we will answer the question “what is LEED certification?” by looking at the different categories of certification.

LEED-NC (New Construction or Major Renovation)

This category applies to the new construction of commercial and institutional buildings, including offices, high rises, government facilities, recreational centers, factories, and labs. In this category, the site can earn 26 points, the use of water can earn 10 points, attention paid to energy and atmosphere is worth 35 points, materials are worth 14, and the indoor environment is worth 15 points.

LEED-EB: O&M (Operation and Maintenance of Existing Buildings)

This category applies to existing buildings that want to operate and maintain themselves more efficiently. It deals with areas such as cleaning the building, recycling efforts, maintaining the exterior, and upgrading equipment and systems. Buildings that have never applied for LEED can apply for this certification, and buildings that have already earned LEED for NC, SCH or CS can also apply. The points in this category are distributed almost exactly as they are in the LEED-NB category except that water efficiency is worth a possible 14 points, while materials are only worth 10.

LEED-CI (commercial interior)

The commercial interior category is primarily for tenants and interior designers. It allows people who do not have any decision making power over the outside of the building to make environmentally friendly decisions for the interior of the building. When they make the interior greener, they also make it healthier, more productive, and cheaper to run and maintain. The bulk of points in this category are awarded for energy and atmosphere with a total of 37 points available in that category. The quality of the indoor environment is worth a possible 17 points.

LEED-CS (core and shell)

This category, which is complementary to the LEED-CI category, deals with the core and the shell of the building. Thus, it addresses buildings’ structures, envelopes, and HVAC systems.   In this category contractors and developers can earn 28 points for their site, 10 for their efficient use of water, 37 for their attention to the energy and the atmosphere, 13 for the materials they choose to use, and 12 points for the quality of their indoor air. Additionally, they can earn the same 10 bonus points in innovation and regional priority that every category is eligible for.

LEED-SCH

This category addresses the particular needs of schools, from those housing primary grades to high school students. It is similar to the LEED-NC, but it also looks at the acoustics in classrooms, how the materials work to prevent mold, and other environmental factors that are important for children’s health issues. With 19 possible points, this category assigns more points to the quality of the indoor environment that any other LEED category.

LEED-Retail

This is the category that can help a bank, a restaurant, a clothing store, or an electronics store win LEED points. It is applicable to all retail projects. Under LEED-Retail, projects must apply for points under the new construction category or the commercial interiors category. To determine which categories may apply to you and how to earn points, you may wish to speak to a LEED consultant from Burnham. They can guide you through the entire certification process, whether you are applying in the retail category or any other category.

LEED-HC

As one of the newest LEED categories, LEED-HC applies to health care facilities. Buildings that are being designed for use as medical facilities, such as doctor’s offices, nursing homes, and even medical schools, should try to earn points in this category.  Because this category has been in existence for less than a year, a LEED consultant may be necessary to help you ascertain how to focus on each of the six categories that you can earn points in.

LEED-Homes

Even residential structures can earn a LEED certification. These green homes must be carefully built with LEED guidelines implemented in every step of the process.

LEED-ND

LEED-Neighborhood development is the ninth and final of the categories that buildings can earn points in. This category has been established as a joint effort between the USGBC, the Congress for New Urbanism, and The Council for the Defense of Natural Resources. To earn LEED certification in this category, a project must have third-party proof that their location and their designs are environmentally responsible and their development techniques are sustainable.

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Last month, we looked at the different types of LEED certification. This month, we will look at the long-term benefits of several elements of the LEED certification process. The long-term benefits are both tangible and intangible, and this blog post will touch on a few of these benefits. The total number of long-term benefits greatly exceeds the ones mentioned in this post. Furthermore, while some benefits are universal to the certification process, some benefits are unique to certain parts.

One of the most tangible benefits that is associated with the LEED certification process is lower operating costs and lower energy bills. Over time, these benefits are multiplied. According to the USGBC (United States Green Building Council), LEED buildings normally have a rate of return of at least twenty percent. This rate is based on energy efficiency combined with projections about the future higher costs of oil and natural gas.

Most buildings that have been involved with the certification process use thirty to fifty percent less water and electricity than buildings that have been built to the current codes in most cities. When values are assigned to this idea, the savings are astounding. For instance, if a LEED certified building saves $1.50 per square foot when compared to a building that has been built to code, that is a yearly savings of $150,000 per year if the building is 100,000 square feet. If the contractor invested $400,000 into the project to make it LEED certified, he or she would get back their initial investment in about two and a half years.

Some returns on the LEED investment seem intangible but when evaluated are actually tangible. For instance, when a building has earned LEED certification, it is a healthier place to be, and thus the people who work there and the other occupants are happier and healthier. This seems like an intangible benefit, but it is very tangible as well. The building owner can look forward to employing an employee base that uses fewer sick days and is more productive overall.

An intangible benefit to the process is improved public relations. The building owner will have an easier time engaging with the community and promoting their building’s agenda when they can clearly promise the community that their building offers benefits to both the environment and the community. This intangible benefit can have a lasting effect on the building’s value and the public’s perception of it.

When you look at a specific element of the process, it is easier to evaluate the potential cost benefit of it. For instance, many builders earn LEED points by creating green roofs. There are a number of different roofing materials and strategies that can make a roof qualify for LEED points, such as applying reflective PVDF coating to a roof. When the cost benefits of this roofing material are analyzed, it appears that it will save the building operators a lot of money in both operating costs and repair costs.

When a building has a PVDF reflective roof, it does not wear as quickly, and it requires less maintenance. In addition, it does not need to be replaced as soon as a conventional roof would need to be replaced. This presents a cash savings for the buildings owner, but it also presents an environmental benefit for the community. With fewer replacements, fewer old roofs are sent to landfills. It can be exposed to lower temperatures than most traditional roofing, and its temperature does not fluctuate as much as many other roofs’ temperatures do. It also helps to reduce the effect of a so-called heat island effect in urban areas. Although the benefits of using PVDF are substantial, it is not the only roofing material that earns LEED points, and it may not be the right choice for your project. To determine which roof is right for you, you may wish to speak with a LEED certified consultant from Burnham Nationwide.

Many of these points are only applicable to new buildings. However, there is also a LEED process for existing buildings. LEED-EB can be earned in a variety of ways, and all of these measures have long-term benefits. For instance, if a building earns their LEED-EB by installing equipment that lasts longer, they will save money on equipment replacement costs. If they earn it by making changes to their operating procedures, they will save money on that as well. For instance, if part of their plan includes turning off equipment when not in use, they will notice an instant and prolonged savings in their energy bills.

Perhaps, the most significant long-term benefit of the LEED certification process is the potential for its effect on the building’s resale value. Some analysts claim that a LEED certified building could garner a selling price of thirty percent more than a regular building. This is an indicator of the true long-term value of certification.

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There are many benefits to making your next project green. One of the easiest identifiable benefits is getting tax benefits and credits through the LEED certification process. In addition, you may also make your building run more efficiently and have a higher resale value. It is not always easy to identify what the LEED certification requirements are. In order to assist you, we have compiled a look at these requirements in this article. To further assist you in your efforts, we have a team of LEED trained professional consultants who can help you along every step of the way. First, this article will look at the different aspects of LEED certification. Then, it will include a brief analysis of how meeting these requirements can save you money. 

There are many different categories in which a project can earn LEED certification. These include the following: newly constructed buildings, the core and shell of buildings, schools, newly constructed or renovated retail locations, and newly constructed or renovated healthcare buildings. Each of these six categories has different certification requirements. In order to gain certification in any one category, you will need to satisfy the requirements of that category. Some of the requirements overlap. For instance, you can use solar energy in any of these categories. However, some of the requirements are unique to a particular category. In the school category, you can earn points by buying and using furniture that is non-toxic and safe for school children to sit in all day.

There are also ways that you can satisfy LEED certification requirements for your building’s interior design. Part of the certification process addresses the green design and construction of a building’s interiors. In this large category, there are two subsets, and they are devoted to commercial interiors and retail commercial interiors. There is also a certification for the operation and maintenance of existing buildings. This certification requires your project to address everything from the types of cleaning solvents that it uses to the way it addresses whether or not idle machinery stays switched on. You can also earn credits for helping to develop your neighborhood from a green standpoint. Even residential properties can earn LEED credits.

In every LEED certification process, there are six categories in which a project can gain points. These categories look at the following aspects: the sustainability of the site, the efficiency of the water usage on the site, the total energy use in the project and its effect on the atmosphere in the area, the usage of green materials, and the environmental quality of the air at the site. Projects can earn a total of 100 points. In addition, they can earn six bonus points for being innovative and four bonus points for being a priority in their region. If they earn a minimum level of 40 to 49 points, they receive basic certification. In the next level, they must earn 50 to 59 points for a silver rating. If they earn 60 to 79 points, they will get a gold ranking, and if they earn over 80 points, they will receive a platinum ranking. Residential properties are ranked on a different scale.

However, even with this information at hand, it can be difficult to assess the value of the various requirements. For the purposes of this article, we can show you a few examples of how projects have saved money. If you would like to estimate how much a particular green building technology would save you, you should speak with one of our green consultants.

Recent studies indicate that the efficiency of LEED buildings is good enough to cover the costs of implementing those building methods. For instance, one contractor has suggested that if a building’s energy usages are reduced by 20 percent, it can save the building’s owner about 36 cents per square foot every year. In a 100,000 square foot building, that represents a savings of approximately $36,000 per year.

Some LEED requirements help businesses save money by the way that these green efforts affect the people who work in these buildings. When buildings have a less toxic interior, the personnel in those buildings are more productive and sick less often. In the United States, it is estimated that the labor costs of the average business are approximately $150 per square foot per year. If a cleaner indoor environment improves worker productivity by one percent, it will save the business about $1.30 per square foot per year. In a 100,000 square foot building, that equates to a yearly savings of about $130,000 per year. Ideally, indoor environmental efforts will equate to more than a one percent increase in productivity and will save the business owner more money.

These are only two examples of how the LEED certification process can save you money. For more information on certification requirements and how they can benefit you, we at Burnham Nationwide would love to speak with you. We can guide you to the answers about how to save money while helping the environment.

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Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) has become an internationally recognized green building certification system. There are four levels of certification that can be reached with varying point ranges per qualification. These include: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points), and Platinum (80+ points). Points are distributed based on several categories, such as Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality.

LEED gold certification may be obtained for new or existing construction, as well as several other specific categories, all within the 60-79 point range. This point range may seem daunting to some, but with increasing technologies and green options for residential and commercial locations, it is easier than you may think. The LEED consulting services of Burnham Nationwide can help contractors implement LEED requirements in the most cost effective and efficient manor. Many LEED credits carry higher point values and should be looked at closely.

• When building new construction or renovating existing commercial buildings, the Sustainable Sites Credit 2: Development Density and Community Connectivity carries a point value of 5. It is divided into two separate options, Development Density or Community Connectivity, making it a bit easier for a contractor to determine which angle may be more applicable in his or her case and the location of the construction.

• Sustainable Sites Credit 4.1: Alternative Transportation – Public Transportation Access carries a point value of 6. When choosing a new construction site or a major renovation, it is important to survey the area to determine what public transportation is available in the immediate area, especially since this is usually something that cannot be added or changed by the contractor after the fact.

• A variable range of points can be obtained with Energy and Atmosphere Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance. Three options fall under this credit, but Option 1: Whole Building Energy Simulation is the only one that provides a range of points up to 19. It may be difficult to obtain the full 19 points depending on the building, but the wide range still allows for a potentially substantial amount of points.

• Energy and Atmosphere Credit 2: On-Site Renewable Energy can garner up to 7 points. Using renewable energy systems can offset building energy costs. Some aspects that can be assessed for nonpolluting and renewable energy potential include solar, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydro, biomass and bio-gas strategies. Local utility companies offer net metering for small renewable energy facilities. Taking advantage of this can help when applying these strategies and determining the level of renewable energy within a project.

There are many ways to earn points towards LEED gold certification and a little bit of research can be extremely beneficial in the long run. The above-mentioned credits are only some of the higher point value credits, but there is so much flexibility as to what can be applied to new or existing construction. Being aware of the surroundings when choosing a project can play a huge role in the options that are available throughout the project. However, it is impossible to always choose something close to a rail station or within walking distance of a laundromat. In these cases, many different aspects can be put to the forefront during construction or remodeling and with a little guidance can achieve gold status as well.

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There are many quantifiable results regarding LEED sustainability efforts. However, there are still some which are difficult to measure, and the criteria are based on factors that vary from project to project. If you are interested in calculating how cost-effective your LEED efforts will be over the lifetime of your building or how high your potential ROI may be if you sell your building, you should speak with the Burnham LEED consulting team. We can help you ascertain the financial and/or environmental benefits of your LEED sustainability efforts.

Keep in mind while looking at any numbers that the financial benefits of different efforts vary drastically from project to project. However, those numbers can provide you with an idea of what you can expect or hope to achieve when you employ various green building strategies in your project. According to the USGB, buildings that are LEED-accredited with Energy Star status have a rate of return of at least twenty percent. As more and more projects rely on LEED standards, older non-LEED certified buildings will lose value, and the LEED buildings will gain as much as a thirty percent return on their investment. In addition to financial benefits, there are other benefits that are vastly important although they are not as easy to quantify. These benefits include things like improved worker health or positive environmental effects. According to a study done by Greg Kats in 2003, the additional building costs required to garner the twenty percent return would only cost contractors an additional two percent in building costs.

Several LEED consulting professionals have studied the impact of LEED sustainability measures in some Portland buildings. They discovered that when a $60,000 investment was used to make an existing building ‘greener’, the building’s operators would save $250,000 in energy costs over a twenty-five year time period. In addition to saving nearly $10,000 a year, the building which had a green roof engendered air pollution benefits that were equal to taking 70 cars off the roads. Analysts place a $90,000 value on that effect.

Without a doubt, LEED sustainability efforts will make your building project friendlier to the planet. However, they will also gain you a substantial monetary return on your investments. Our LEED consulting team has vast experience working under LEED guidelines, and we look forward to helping you figure out what to implement and at what cost for what return.

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If you have already bid on or are planning to bid on a project that is trying to gain points for LEED certification, you will be well-served by Burnham’s LEED consulting team. If you speak to a Burnham LEED accredited professional, we will advise you on all of the LEED requirements that are the contractor’s responsibility. We can guide you through the process in a manner that ensures that your building is built to meet LEED standards and that your efforts are cost effective. Then we help you to apply for and get certified by the USGB.

The USGB is the United States Green Building Council, and they oversee the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. LEED, in turn, certifies buildings through the Green Building Rating System. Contractors are able to gain points for their building by satisfying a number of different green criteria. To gain accreditation, they must gain a certain number of points which are awarded for things like roofs, water systems, or other aspects of their projects.

Burnham’s LEED consulting team, led by a LEED accredited professional, will guide and support you as you choose how to make your building sustainable. We assist you with your entire project, from implementing green strategies to submitting the right paperwork to the USGB. We even study and review different aspects of the project, and help you report those findings to the USGB so that you gain all of the points that you are eligible for. Our analysis can include anything from figuring out the amount of waste that you divert on the project to drafting your Air Quality Management plans to calculating the percentage of local materials that your project has used.

Both the construction team and the owner’s team must submit paperwork. We will help submit that information so that it is done correctly and does not face any delays during the approval process. In addition, we act as a liaison between the two teams to ensure that each team understands their role as well as their partner’s role.

When you turn to the Burnham LEED consulting team, you gain a quality relationship with a LEED accredited professional who can guide you every step of the way. Our guidance will help you identify areas where you can improve green building strategies, qualify for the points that you deserve, and figure out where you can gain additional points. Need help figuring out the logistical aspects of applying for LEED certification? Ask us; we’re here to make sure that your project is approved and accredited as quickly as possible with a minimum of hassles.

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