The U.S. Green Building Council has crowned Massachusetts as the best overall state for LEED in its annual ranking of states leading 2016 in sustainable building design. Rising from third place to first place since last year’s ranking, Massachusetts attributes success to 136 LEED-certified projects, representative of 3.73 square feet of certified space per resident, as well as achieving LEED silver at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the location of Greenbuild 2017.
Colorado, Illinois, New York, and California follow Massachusetts to round out the top five in the Top 10 States for LEED ranking. Now in its seventh year of the assessment, USGBC assesses the total square feet of LEED-certified space per resident based on U.S. Census data, including commercial and institutional green building projects certified during 2016.
“LEED guides our buildings, cities, communities and neighborhoods to become more resource- and energy-efficient, healthier for occupants and more competitive in the marketplace,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC. “The green building movement continues to evolve with advancements in technology, benchmarking and transparency, and the states on this list are leading the way toward a more sustainable future.”
2016 Top 10 States for LEED
1. MA*
- Certified Gross Square Footage (GSF): 24,398,765
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 3.73
- Total No. Projects: 136
2. CO*
- GSF: 15,921,457
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 3.17
- Total No. Projects: 92
3. IL*
- GSF: 36,188,485
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.82
- Total No. Projects: 151
4. NY*
- GSF: 48,405,204
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.5
- Total No. Projects: 211
5. CA*
- GSF: 88,891,641
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.82
- Total No. Projects: 632
6. NV*
- GSF: 6,397,602
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.37
- Total No. Projects: 22
7. MD*
- GSF: 13,426,623
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.33
- Total No. Projects: 104
8. VA*
- GSF: 18,444,309
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.31
- Total No. Projects: 155
9. WA*
- GSF: 15,103,478
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 2.25
- Total No. Projects: 105
10. TX*
- GSF: 41,942,393
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 1.67
- Total No. Projects: 211
** DC
- GSF: 17,476,447
- Per-capita Certified GSF: 29.04
- Total No. Projects: 120
**Washington, D.C., is not ranked because it is a federal district, not a state.*Included in 2015 Top 10 States for LEED list
