Massachusetts topped the recently released Annual Top 10 States for LEED list which highlights the U.S. states with the most progress in sustainable building design, construction and transformation over the past year.
In 2016, the Bay State climbed from third to first place with 136 LEED-certified projects, accounting for 3.73 square feet of certified space per resident.
The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center was named “notable project certified in 2016”. The BCEC is one of the largest buildings in New England, and only amongst a handful of convention centers internationally, with the LEED certification. Learn more about BCEC’s LEED certification.
The BCEC is scheduled to host Greenbuild 2017, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, which brings together more than 20,000 industry leaders, experts, and professionals.
The LEED green building certification system is the primary program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, more than 59,000 commercial, neighborhood and residential projects are currently LEED-certified, comprising more than six billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 164 countries and territories globally. Last year, 1,819 commercial and institutional projects achieved LEED certification in the top 10 states within the list, representing 309.12 million gross square feet of real estate.
| Rank | State | Certified Gross Square Footage (GSF) | Per-capita Certified GSF | Total No. Projects |
| 1 | Massachusetts | 24,398,765 | 3.73 | 136 |
| 2 | Colorado | 15,921,457 | 3.17 | 92 |
| 3 | Illinois | 36,188,485 | 2.82 | 151 |
| 4 | New York | 36,188,485 | 2.82 | 151 |
| 5 | California | 88,891,641 | 2.39 | 632 |
| 6 | Nevada | 6,397,602 | 2.37 | 22 |
| 7 | Maryland | 13,426,623 | 2.33 | 104 |
| 8 | Virginia | 18,444,309 | 2.31 | 155 |
| 9 | Washington | 15,103,478 | 2.25 | 105 |
| 10 | Texas | 41,942,393 | 1.67 | 211 |
| ** | D.C. | 17,476,447 | 29.04 | 120 |
Infographic with more details about the top 10 states is available here.