LEED

LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary certification program that can be applied to any type of building (both commercial and residential) and analyzes the entire lifecycle of the building itself, from design to construction.

The LEED certificate is one of the most widely usedsustainable building certifications worldwide. The certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council(USGBC), a nonprofit association, and has been adapted by different countries according to their own regulations.

The LEED protocol promotes a sustainability-oriented approach by recognizing the performance of buildings in key areas, such as: energy and water conservation, reduction of_CO2 emissions, improvement of the ecological quality of interiors, materials and resources used, and design and site selection.

The system is based on awarding 'credits' for each requirement presented in the checklist, divided into eight categories: Transport and Location (LT), Site Sustainability (SS), Water Resource Efficiency (WE), Energy and Atmosphere (EA), Materials and Resources (MR), Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Innovation (I), and Regional Priority (PR).

The maximum score is 110 points and corresponds to LEED Platinum certification while the minimum score to certify is 40 points corresponding to basic LEED certification. There are also two intermediate levels corresponding to Silver and Gold environmental certification.