The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its list of the top 10 countries for LEED® outside of the United States, on which Canada ranked No. 1. The list demonstrates the global reach of the movement that is transforming the built environment into healthy, high-performing structures that benefit the planet and all of its people.

“The global community is increasingly recognizing the imperative for action as we combat the extraordinary challenge of worldwide climate change,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “LEED’s success in Canada represents not only a growing recognition of its demonstrated benefits for human health and operational cost savings, but also its unparalleled potential to be part of the solution to a warming planet and rising sea levels.”

The list of the top 10 countries for LEED reflects the global adaptability of the world’s most widely used and recognized system guiding the design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings. To date, project teams in more than 140 countries and territories have implemented LEED in their building projects, taking advantage of its global, regional and local applicability to create structures that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; create healthier indoor environments for workers, students and community members; and lower utility bills for building owners through reduced energy and water use.

The ranking of the top 10 countries for LEED outside of the U.S. is based on cumulative gross square meters (GSM) of space certified to LEED in each nation as of April 2014. Canada has 17.74 million GSM of LEED-certified space, and in total, it has 4,068 LEED-certified and -registered projects representing 58.66 million GSM.

The full ranking can be seen on the CaGBC website.

About CaGBC

The CaGBC is the leading national industry organization advancing green building and sustainable community development practices. We work closely with our member organizations who are involved in the design, construction and operation of buildings and homes in an effort to make every building greener. The CaGBC reduces environmental impacts from the built environment through education/training, building certification, advocacy and information sharing. The CaGBC is the license holder for the LEED green building rating system in Canada. In addition to LEED, the CaGBC also supports the Living Building Challenge, Passive House Standard and EcoDistricts in Canada.

About LEED in Canada

LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It provides building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their building’s performance. LEED rating systems encourage and accelerate the global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.