The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) developed the LEED Green Building Rating System in 1998; today it’s the nationally accepted benchmark for high-performance green building. Builders who attain LEED certification also will qualify for government incentives. The LEED rating system uses 8 different categories to measure the overall performance of a home. Each category contains a specific number of credits; each credit is worth 1 or more possible points. Homes are given a LEED certification rating based on the total number of points scored. LEED Certified is awarded to homes scoring between 45 and 59 total points; LEED Silver is awarded to homes scoring between 60 and 74 total points; LEED Gold is awarded to homes scoring between 75 and 89 total points; and LEED Platinum is awarded to homes scoring between 90 and 128 total points. Find more information at www.usgbc.org.

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