To LEED or Not to LEED

Certify yourself or your service, that is the question.
LEED,  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable ("green") buildings.

Jackson Murphy went into great detail on the advantages of Green Buildings and perhaps becoming LEED certified. LEED certified buildings led to a 2-16% increased worker and student productivity. This was based on two examples he provided that I wanted to do a bit more research on.


One of the examples of a sustainable structure was Pat Lobb Toyota. Apparently, much of the dealership was created with recycled materials and designed with energy and resource preserving technology.  They incorporated approximately 75% recycled materials such as aluminum, steel, tile and carpet.

Another example  is the use a cistern,  a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater.  Modern cisterns range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres, effectively forming cover to capture and conserve water for the car wash.




The dealership was designed by the Gensler architectural firm and built by Turner Construction Company.
Jackson made a great point to mention that LEED certification was not necessary unless you were working as a consultant or were in a function at your job to certify a building. He mentioned the difficutly of the test, affirming that it is in fact difficult and not to tango with it unless yu plean on using it. Apparently, one has to renew membership once it expires, so unless the applicant wants to continue to incur the fees, it is best to not go there.