New York ranked third on the U.S. Green Building Council’s list of states at the forefront of green construction, with Massachusetts earning the top spot.
The USGBC annual list ranks states based on the most LEED-certified gross square footage per capita over the past year.
Created by the USGBC, the LEED rating system is the world’s most widely used green building program and helps define best practices for healthy, high-performing green buildings.
Massachusetts had 96 buildings encompassing over 26 million square feet that were LEED-certified in 2022, equating to nearly 3.7 LEED-certified square feet per resident.
“I’m really proud that New York’s near the top of the list,” said Mark Maddalina, principal and sustainable design director at the multidisciplinary design firm SWBR. “We certainly can’t do enough green building to manage climate change. I really, truly look forward to doing a lot more.”
Illinois (3.47 square feet per capita) was second, New York third (3.17 square feet per capita), California fourth (2.43 square feet per capita) and Maryland fifth (2.39 square feet per capita).
“It was a strong year for LEED certifications across the U.S. as companies and governments embrace LEED as a tool for meeting ESG goals and organizational commitments to climate action, occupant wellbeing and resource efficiency,” Peter Templeton, USGBC president and CEO, said in a news release.
“LEED buildings are environmentally friendly, cutting their emissions and waste, and use less energy and water. At the same time, they also help reduce operational and maintenance costs, contributing to the bottom line.”
New York was not on the list f0r 2021 or 2019, but ranked No. 2 in 2020, No. 4 in 2018 and No. 2 in 2017.
Since Washington, D.C., is not a state, it is not included on the list, but the territory consistently would be No. 1 because of ongoing commitments to green building by federal and local leaders.
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