Other related research notes & Directory of LEED-certified projects

A 2003 analysis of the savings from green building found from a review of 60 LEED buildings that the
buildings were, on average, 25-30% more energy efficient. However, it also attributed substantial
benefits to the increased productivity from the better ventilation, temperature control, lighting control,
and reduced indoor air pollution.[48]

As of 2008, LEED (and similar Energy Star) buildings had mostly been evaluated by case studies. From a
purely financial perspective, in 2008 several studies found that LEED for-rent office spaces generally
charged higher rent and had higher occupancy rates. CoStar collects data on properties. The extra cost
for the minimum benefit has been estimated at 3%, with an additional 2.5% for silver.[49] More recent
studies have confirmed these earlier findings in that certified buildings achieve significantly higher rents,
sale prices and occupancy rates as well as lower capitalization rates potentially reflecting lower
investment risk.[50][51][52]

LEED focuses on the design of the building and not on its actual energy consumption, and therefore it
has suggested that LEED buildings should be tracked to discover whether the potential energy savings
from the design are being used in practice.[53]

The U.S. Green Building Council provides an online directory of U.S. LEED-certified projects.[10]

The Canada Green Building Council provides an online directory[54] of LEED Canada-certified projects.

In 2012 the USGBC launched GBIG, the Green Building Information Gateway,[55] in an effort to connect
green building efforts and projects from all over the world. It provides searchable access to a database
of activities, buildings, places and collections of green building-related information from many sources
and programs, as well as, specifically provides information about LEED projects.