Roofing

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification: A Guide to Getting Started

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is overseen in the United States by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Making your building LEED certified is a triple win: you gain prestige and enormous public relations value; you save money by reducing energy consumption; and you preserve earth’s natural resources for future generations. Getting LEED certified, whether for energy-efficient commercial roofing or other features, is not an overnight process. Follow these five steps to be well on your way to earning the coveted LEED certification.

Join

By joining USGBC, you reduce certification costs from registration through design and recertification. Membership costs vary from $300 for a basic organization level up to $20,000 for the Platinum plan. Whether you want to certify your existing infrastructure or plan for the future with strategies such as insulated commercial roofing, membership starts the certification process and displays your environmental awareness to the professional and local community.

Clear Goal

Before you trap yourself with impossibly lofty environmental goals, decide the level of LEED certification you want, and lay out clear environmental targets for that level.

Budget

Some commercial property owners mistakenly believe LEED certification is only available for projects in planning stages, but your existing commercial building can become certified:

  • Building Design and Construction
  • Interior Design and Construction
  • Building Operations and Maintenance

Say you want to get certified by using cool roofing products for commercial roofing. As a Silver, Gold or Platinum member, you will pay $900 for registration and additional fees based on square footage. When budgeting a new roof, you could consider Sika Sarnafil, a LEED-certified product installed by BELDON® Roofing Company, rather than a non-LEED-certified product.

Professionals

Form partnerships with LEED-accredited professionals. Commercial roofing contractors, architects and other building industry experts can bring environmentally savvy thinking to your existing facility. They may have ways you can earn LEED credits at little or no cost, such as Credit 7.2, reducing heat islands with cool commercial roofing.

Life Cycle Value

Design every step of your LEED certification plan for a long-term goal, not a short-term benefit. When you apply energy-saving features such as cool commercial roofing, you can reduce cooling equipment size, which compounds your savings. Some maintenance and operational changes can pay for themselves within a few years of operation, so plan for a life-cycle value, not an up-front cost.

If you are interested in learning more about LEED certification, Contact BELDON® Roofing Company today.

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