The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System^® has brought all sectors of the building industry together to develop a voluntary, national standard in the development of “high-performing, sustainable buildings.” PIMA supports this approach, and was one of the first trade associations to join USGBC when that organization opened its doors to industry groups.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Increasingly, architects, specifiers and building owners are being tasked with the challenge of creating high performance buildings. To do so they must look to high performance building materials such as polyiso. Due to its high thermal efficiency, zero ozone depleting potential and negligible global warming potential, polyiso is an ideal choice for LEED building design. As recognized for its environmental benefits by Environmental Building News, polyiso roof insulation can help building owners, architects and specifiers gain credits under three of LEED’s six rating categories including:

• Energy and atmosphere
  
• Materials and resources
  
• Innovation and design process
  

For suggested opportunities to incorporate polyiso in a LEED building design, see the Advisory on LEED and Polyiso

For more information on LEED, please visit www.usgbc.org.