Snapshot on the main certification labels.
LEED
LEED is a certification system administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the most widely recognized green building certification system in the United States. The majority of green certified buildings in NYC are LEED certified. In order to receive LEED certification projects collect points in categories such as Energy and Atmosphere, Heat Island Reduction, Water Performance, and Sustainable Sites. LEED provides four certification levels:
Energy Star was originally developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a voluntary labeling program to promote energy-efficient products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Local Law 86 also known as the LEED Law requires that all buildings managed by the city agencies and all government buildings have to be LEED certified. This law applies to both new construction and any major reconstruction of an existing building.
Passive House is an international building standard developed in Germany in the 1990's by the Passive House Institute of Darmstadt. Passive house building technology provides a 90% decrease in heating and cooling energy expenditure and a 75% decrease in overall energy usage. Passive house has been recently becoming more popular in the United States. In NYC Passive House certified projects include primarily smaller residential buildings such as townhouses or smaller apartment buildings including affordable-housing projects.
Living Building Challenge
Living Building Challenge is a rigorous performance standard for buildings. Living Building Challenge certified buildings are self-sufficient and produce more energy than they use and collect and treat all water on site. The certification requires actual demonstrated performance over twelve consecutive months. There are only two certified buildings in all of New York City.
NET ZERO ENERGY
The Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) certification is also petal achievement under the holistic Living Building Challenge; both are administered by The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) provides a certification option for a .