The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its 2010 list of top ten states for LEED – or green – buildings. The DC-based, 501 c3 organization used an interesting formula for the list, including people in the equation. USGBC VP, Scot Horst, explained that, “Using per capita, versus the more traditional numbers of projects, or pure square footage, is a reminder to all of us that the people who live and work, learn and play in buildings should be what we care about most.”
Here’s the list (which includes 10 states and the District of Columbia):
1. District of Columbia - 25.15 sf
2. Nevada - 10.92 sf
3. New Mexico - 6.35 sf
4. New Hampshire - 4.49 sf
5. Oregon - 4.07 sf
6. South Carolina - 3.19 sf
7. Washington - 3.16 sf
8. Illinois - 3.09 sf
9. Arkansas - 2.9 sf
10. Colorado - 2.85 sf
11. Minnesota - 2.7 sf
According to the group, there are currently over 40,000 LEED-certified projects with a total of nearly eight billion square feet.