The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a standard for environmental sustainable construction widely used throughout the United States. It was founded in 1998 and measures performance in key areas of sustainability: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, locations and linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design and regional priority. The LEED certification levels from lowest to highest are Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Washington University in St. Louis already has a number projects which have been LEED certified or are awaiting certification, including the Danforth University Center (Gold, 2009) and the Earth and Planetary Sciences building (Certified, 2004).