Spatial Penetration and Performance of LEED Ratings & Certification Levels Among Office Buildings

ARES 2011 Manuscript Prize Winner – Sustainable Real Estate

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched LEED in 1998. This paper focuses on class A and B office buildings across the U.S. with 50,000 square feet or more and has a threefold goal: i) provide an overview of the office building distribution among the ratings and certification levels from the inception of the USGBC until today; ii) examine the spatial penetration of the ratings and certification levels across the mainland U.S. states and iii) examine closely the rent and vacancy performance of LEED-EB before and after their designation while controlling for the latest financial crisis.