To provide a national standard of what constitutes a "green building," the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System was developed. Through its use as a design guideline and third-party certification tool, LEED aims to improve occupant well-being, environmental performance, and economic returns of buildings using established and innovative practices, standards and technologies.

The LEED Green Building Rating System evaluates commercial and high-rise residential buildings from a whole-building perspective. The rating system provides recognition of buildings designed for sustainability by providing a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum rating. LEED rates projects on the following categories:

• Site Planning
  
• Energy Efficiency
  
• Materials and Resources
  
• Indoor Air Quality
  
• Water

LEED certification distinguishes building projects that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability by meeting the highest performance standards.

Why Certify?

• Establish recognized leadership in the green-building sector.
  
• Validate achievement through third-party review.
  
• Qualify for a growing array of state and local government incentives.
  
• Contribute to a growing green-building knowledge base.
  
• Earn LEED certification plaque and certificate.

Commercial buildings as defined by standard building codes are eligible for certification under LEED version 2.1.

Registration

The first step toward earning LEED certification is project registration. Registering during the early phases of project design will ensure maximum potential for achieving certification. Upon registration, project contacts receive an orientation letter and access to resources that explain and facilitate the formal LEED application process.

Documentation

Once the project is registered, the project team begins to prepare documentation and calculations to satisfy the prerequisite and credit-submittal requirements. It is helpful to have a LEED accredited professional as the project contact and team member responsible for coordinating the LEED process. By using a LEED accredited professional, one point toward certification can be earned.

Certification Requirements

For a project to become LEED certified, it must attain a set number of points available in six areas:

• Sustainable Sites (SS) - 14 possible points
  
• Water Efficiency (WE) - 5 possible points
  
• Energy & Atmosphere (EA) - 17 possible points
  
• Materials & Resources (MR) - 13 possible points
  
• Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) - 15 possible points
  
• Innovation & Design Process (ID) - 5 possible points

• Certified 26-32 points
  
• Silver 33-38 points
  
• Gold 39-51 points
  
• Platinum 52-69 points

Click here to download the USGBC White Paper

LEED Credit Areas Impacted by the Use of a ButlerŪ Building

The building materials Butler would normally supply on a project will be a minor part of the overall LEED rating of the project, but when combined with other components of the building, they may contribute to LEED credits.

Sustainable Sites --- SS Credit 7.2 (1 point)

Requirements: Use roofing materials having a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) equal to or greater than the values in the table below for a minimum of 75% of the roof surface. The Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) is a measure of the roof's ability to reflect solar heat.

The table below gives the SRI of the Butler roof panel materials and indicates which ones meet the minimum LEED requirements for this credit according to roof slope.

Requirements: Design the building to comply with ASHRAE/INESNA standard 90.1-1999 (without amendments) or the local energy code, whichever is more stringent.

Butler roof and wall systems can be designed to provide R values of up to R-40, which will greatly contribute to achieving this prerequisite.

Energy & Atmosphere---- EA Credit 1 (1-10 points)

Requirements: Achieve increasing levels of energy performance above the prerequisite standard to reduce environmental impacts associated with excessive energy use.

Butler roof and wall systems can be designed to provide R values of up to R-40, which will contribute to achieving these credits.

Materials & Resources---- Recycled Content MR Credit 4.1 (1 point)

Requirements: Use material with recycled content such that the sum of the post-consumer recycled content plus one-half of the post industrial content constitutes at least 5 percent of the total value of the materials in the project.

Click to open a popup table: Recycled Content of Butler Structural, Roof and Wall Systems

Materials & Resources----Regional Materials MR Credit 5.1 (1 point)

Requirements: Use a minimum of 20 percent of building materials and products (cost) that are manufactured regionally, within a 500-mile radius.

If the project is within 500 miles of the Butler plant, this will contribute to this credit.

See the map below for approximate 500-mile radius of the Butler plants.

Materials & Resources----Regional Materials MR Credit 5.2 (1point)

Requirements: Of the regionally manufactured materials documented for MR Credit 5.1, use a minimum of 50 percent of the building materials that are manufactured within a 500-mile radius.

If the project is within 500 miles of the Butler plant, this will contribute to this credit.

See the map below for approximate 500-mile radius of the Butler plants.

Butler plants within approximate 500-mile radius

Energy StarŪ is a registered trademark of the United States EPA; LEED is a registered trademark of the US Green Building Council.