EcoGrid Projects - LEED Certification

Leadership in Energy and Environmental or LEED is a point rating system used to evaluate the environmental performance of a building. The LEED Certification system has been implemented in both Canada and the US. The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has released version 1.0 of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for new construction (LEED-NC) in Canada which is an adaptation of the US Green Building Councils (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System (LEEDTM).

The system is credit based, where projects earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during the building process.

The LEED rating system has five principal credit categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality

Each category is divided into credits. Credits are broken down into individual points. Additional points can be earned for innovation, exceptional environmental performance, and use of a LEED-accredited professional on the project team.

Certification

A project requires at least 26 points for certification. Silver, gold, and platinum levels are also available.

EcoGrid & LEED Certification

EcoGrid is synonymous with Green Building design. It's application enables the use of pervious surfaces in medium to high traffic areas; it provides superior erosion protection; and it is manufactured from 100% recycled plastic. All of these benefits assist projects in earning points under the following LEED ratings system credit categories:

• Erosion & Sedimentation Control
  (Sustainable Sites - Prereq 1)
• Reduced Site Disturbance: Protect or Restore Open Space
  (Sustainable Sites - Credit 5)
• Stormwater Management: Rate and Quantity
  (Sustainable Sites - Credit 6)
• Stormwater Management: Treatment
  (Sustainable Sites - Credit 6)
• Heat Island Effect : Non Roof
  (Sustainable Sites - Credit 7)
• Heat Island Effect: Roof
  (Sustainable Sites - Credit 7)
• Recycled Content
  (Materials & Resources - Credit 4)

For more information on the LEED certification program, visit the CaGBC website, www.cagbc.ca or the USGBC website, www.usgbc.org. For more information regarding EcoGrid and it's use in LEED Certified Projects contact TerraFirm Enterprises.