Washington, D.C. Named First LEED Platinum City in the World

The nation’s capital was named the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Cities Platinum city in the world, the U.S. Green Building Council announced Thursday. 

USGBC held an event on the steps of Dunbar High School, the highest rated LEED-certified school in the country.

“It is in the best interest of Washington, DC’s safety, economy, and future to take sustainability and resiliency seriously, and as the nation’s capital, we have a special obligation to lead the way on environmental issues,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Our commitment to these issues will not yield, and we look forward to continuing to build a greener, more resilient, and more sustainable D.C.”

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and is designed to help buildings achieve high performance in key areas of human and environmental health.

LEED for Cities was launched last year and USGBC said it enables cities to measure and communicate performance, focusing on outcomes from ongoing sustainability efforts across an array of metrics, including energy, water, waste, transportation, and human experience (which includes education, prosperity, equity and health & safety).

LEED for Cities projects benchmark and track performance using Arc, a state-of-the-art digital platform that uses data to provide greater transparency into sustainability efforts and helps cities make more informed decisions, per USGBC. 

“Washington, D.C. is setting the bar for smart cities all around the world by leveraging technology and data to achieve sustainability and resiliency goals, creating healthy and safe communities where citizens can thrive,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC and GBCI. 

Additionally, Brookland Middle School earned LEED Platinum certification by the USGBC. The school was awarded 85 out of a possible 109 points, making Brookland Middle School the third D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) project to achieve Platinum certification and the 19th LEED certified DCPS facility, according to USGBC.




Photo via Pixabay