The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently released its annual ranking of U.S. states leading the way on green building, with Massachusetts topping the list. The USGBC ranking is based on LEED-certified gross square footage per capita over the past year. The LEED rating system is the world’s most widely used green building program and was created by USGBC as a leadership standard defining best practices for healthy, high-performing green buildings.
“It was a strong year for LEED certifications across the U.S. as companies and governments embrace LEED as a tool for meeting ESG goals and organizational commitments to climate action, occupant wellbeing, and resource efficiency,” said Peter Templeton, USGBC president and CEO. “LEED buildings are environmentally friendly, cutting their emissions and waste, and use less energy and water. At the same time, they also help reduce operational and maintenance costs, contributing to the bottom line.”
The states following Massachusetts — where 96 buildings encompassing over 26 million square feet were LEED-certified in 2022, equating to nearly 3.7 LEED-certified square feet per resident — were Illinois (3.47 square feet per capita), New York (3.17 square feet per capita), California (2.43 square feet per capita), and Maryland (2.39 square feet per capita).
Click through the following slides to find out what states made the top 10.
For more information on the top 10 states, visit USGBC's website.
