Environmentally friendly projects in Houston helped propel Texas to the No. 5 spot in the U.S. Green Building Council's 2018 rankings.
The ranking is based on the amount of commercial and institutional Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified space feet per person in 2018. LEED is a globally recognized green building rating system designed to create healthier spaces that save money, use less energy and water, and reduce waste.
Texas grew to 277 LEED-certified projects totaling 88.4 million square feet in 2018, or 3.52 square feet per capita, according to the council. The Texas projects included the Sea Star Base Galveston, the Milby High School renovation and the NASA Human Health & Performance Laboratory in Houston.
Top States for LEED Green Building in 2018
Based on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified space feet per person in 2018:
1. Illinois
2. Massachusetts
3. Washington
4. New York
5. Texas
6. Colorado
7. Hawaii
8. Virginia
9. California
10. Maryland
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
The top states are Illinois, with 172 projects spanning 68.1 million square feet and a ratio of 5.31 square feet per person; Massachusetts, with 122 projects spanning 34.7 million square feet and a ratio of 5.31 square feet per person; Washington, with 137 projects spanning 28.6 million square feet and a ratio of 4.25 square feet per person; and New York, with 214 projects spanning 72.9 million square feet and a ratio of 3.76 square feet per person.
Among the top 10, only California had more projects than Texas with 521 projects totaling 112.4 million square feet certified. The state ranked No. 9 with 3.02 square feet of LEED-certified space per person.
While the ranking included only states, Washington, D.C., had by far the most LEED-certified space with 61.74 square feet per capita. The district has 145 such projects spanning 37.1 million square feet.
In the U.S., 2,886 commercial projects were certified in 2018, according to the Green Building Council.
-Katherine Feser of The Houston Chronicle