Dive Brief:
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Illinois added the most square feet of LEED-certified building space per resident in 2014, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Top 10 States for LEED list, which it released on Wednesday.
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Although more than 69 million square feet of land was LEED-certified in California last year, that translates into only 1.87 square feet per capita, the report said. The 42 million-plus square feet certified in Illinois translates into 3.31 square feet per state resident. Illinois, where 174 buildings earned LEED certifications last year, has topped the USGBC list for two years running.
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New to the fifth annual Top 10 list are Georgia and Arizona. USGBC officials said their inclusion reflects some momentum in green building in the South and Southeast. The rankings are based on sustainable design and construction of commercial and institutional green building projects.
Dive Insight:
The per capita count reflects a USGBC philosophy that “every story about a green building is a story about people,” Rick Fedrizzi, the council’s CEO and founding chair, said in a press release. “This per-capita approach tells a great story about how LEED has become an important benchmark in the transformation of the nation’s built environment.”
Rounding out the Top 10 list are Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York and Washington, DC.