Mercurio Construction is currently embracing the LEED Building practices
WHAT IS LEED?
The LEED plaque on a building is a mark of quality and achievement in green building.
Leaders across the globe have made LEED the most widely used green building rating system in the world with 1.7 million square feet of construction space certifying every day. LEED certification provides independent verification of a building or neighborhood’s green features, allowing for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of resource-efficient, high-performing, healthy, cost-effective buildings. LEED is the triple bottom line in action, benefiting people, planet and profit.
WHY LEED?
LEED certification means healthier, more productive places, reduced stress on the environment by encouraging energy and resource-efficient buildings, and savings from increased building value, higher lease rates and decreased utility costs. In fact, 88 of the Fortune 100 companies are already using LEED.
LEED Buildings:
PROVIDE A COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATOR
61% of corporate leaders believe that sustainability leads to market differentiation and improved financial performance.
MAKE FOR HAPPIER EMPLOYEES AND OCCUPANTS
LEED-certified buildings are demonstrating increased recruitment and retention rates and increased productivity benefits for employers. 2.5 million employees are currently experiencing better indoor environmental quality in LEED buildings.
ATTRACT TENANTS
Today’s tenants understand and are looking for the benefits that LEED-certified spaces have to offer. The new Class A office space is green; lease-up rates for green buildings typically range from average to 20% above average.
SAVE ENERGY AND RESOURCES, LOWER OPERATING COSTS
From 2015-2018 LEED-certified buildings are estimated to generate as much as $1.2 billion in energy savings, $149.5 million in water savings, $715.3 million in maintenance savings, and $54.2 million in waste savings.
ARE COST EFFECTIVE
A study of 562 PNC bank branches showed that compared to non-LEED-certified facilities, LEED-certified facilities annually opened up 458 more consumer deposit accounts and had $3,032,000 more in consumer deposit balance per facility per year and increased revenue.
PROVIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMUNITY BENEFITS
Adobe Systems, Inc., announced in 2006 that it had received three LEED Platinum awards for its headquarters towers; not only did it reap great publicity, but the firm showed that it had garnered a net present value return of almost 20 to one on its initial investment.
INCREASE RENTAL RATES
A recent study of the San Diego market showed that the overall vacancy rate for green buildings was 4% lower than for non-green properties — 11.7%, compared to 15.7% — and that LEED-certified buildings continued to command the highest rents.
OPTIMIZE HEALTH
By bringing the good in — like clean air and access to daylight — and keeping the bad out—including harmful chemicals found in paints, finishings and more — LEED creates healthy spaces. Buildings that optimize wellbeing are more important than ever.
LEED Is Global:
More than 79,000 projects are participating in LEED across 160 countries and territories, comprising over 15 billion square feet. You’ve seen a LEED plaque before — USGBC estimates that nearly 5 million people experience a LEED building every day. Many of the world’s most well-known buildings have earned LEED certification.
LEED works with top building professionals around the world to deliver a system that is applicable at the global, regional and local levels. That means that LEED works no matter where you live — from Seattle, Washington to Taipei, Taiwan.