produce 10,000 square feet of
hardwood flooring per hour
and delivers the flexibility to
switch out finish colors in less
than 10 minutes.
“Our goal with American OEM was
to evaluate and implement improve-
ments that optimize production for
maximum up-time, precision, and per-
formance,” said Jim Hazen, global tech-
nical director for Valspar Wood. “This
operation is geared for high-volume
USGBC Releases the Top 10 States for LEED Green Building Per Capita in Nation
Now in its fifth year, the per-capita list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects that were certified throughout 2014. Illinois retained
its top national position for the second year in a row, with 174
LEED certifications representing 3. 31 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident.
Two newcomers to the list, Georgia and Arizona, show that
2014 was a year of major growth for LEED in the South and
Southwest regions of the country, while the continued strong
performance of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia have
helped the mid-Atlantic region remain the epicenter of green
building across the country. Washington, D.C., which is not included on the official list of top states due to its status as a federal territory, is notable as it continues to lead the nation with 29. 44
square feet of space per resident certified in 2014. Maryland and
Virginia finished third and fourth respectively, and both states
increased their per capita totals to 2.70 and 2.33 square feet of
LEED space per resident in 2014.
2014’s list had the highest average (2.34) of per capita space
certified per resident per state since 2010, and the second highest average to date. Six of the eight states (IL, CO, MD, VA, MA
and HI), which were also on the list in 2013, increased the amount
of square feet of space they certified per resident in 2014. Illinois
and Colorado are the only two states to make the list every year
since 2010.
The full ranking is as follows:
1. Illinois
2. Colorado
3. Maryland
4. Virginia
5. Massachusetts
6. Hawaii
7. California
8. Georgia
9. Minnesota
10. (tied) Arizona
10. (tied) New York
USGBC calculates the list using per-capita figures as a mea-
sure of the human element of green building, allowing for a fair
comparison of the level of green building taking place among
states with significant differences in population and, accordingly,
number of overall buildings.
In 2014, LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance
was once again the most popular rating system within the top
10 states, representing 48 percent of the total square footage
certified. LEED for Building Design and Construction was the
second most popular rating system in the top 10, representing
46 percent of the square footage certified and LEED for Interior
Design and Construction was the third most popular rating system, representing 6 percent of total square footage certified in
these states in 2014.
A sample of notable projects that certified in these states in
2014 include:
• Illinois: The Aon Center, a 3.2 million-square-foot tower in
Chicago owned by Jones Lang LaSalle, LEED Silver
• Colorado: Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Mor-
gridge Family Exploration Center in Denver, LEED Platinum
• Maryland: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Building 26
in Greenbelt, LEED Gold
• Virginia: University of Mary Washington’s Technology Con-
vergence Center in Fredericksburg, LEED Silver
• Massachusetts: Winchester Hospital Ambulatory Surgery
Center in Winchester, LEED Gold
• Hawaii: City Financial Tower in Honolulu, LEED Gold
• California: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, LEED Gold
• Georgia: The Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta,
LEED Silver
• Minnesota: Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis, LEED Gold
• Arizona: Arizona State University Health Services renova-
tion in Tempe, LEED Platinum
• New York: Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Roch-
ester Institute of Technology in Rochester, LEED Platinum
More than 26,600 projects representing 3. 6 billion square
feet of space have been LEED-certified to date, with another
42,000 projects representing 8. 8 billion square feet in the pipe-
line for certification. USGBC launched LEED v4, the newest ver-
sion of the rating system, in the fall of 2013. The latest version
continues to raise the bar for the entire green building industry,
which Forbes Magazine projects could be worth up to $960 bil-
lion globally by 2023. LEED v4 features increased technical rigor;
new market sector adaptations for data centers, warehouses and
distribution centers, hospitality, existing schools, existing retail
and midrise residential projects; and a simplified submittal pro-
cess supported by a robust and intuitive technology platform.
