The USGBC has announced the top ten states ranked by LEED certified projects for 2021. In 2021, the top ten states, with the addition of the District of Columbia, certified 1,105 projects and more than 247 million gross square feet under LEED. Did your products get specified in the states listed?

Illinois ranked the number one state for 2021 and certified 3.16 square feet of building space per person under LEED. Washington state and Massachusetts ranked number two and three. Peter Templeton, president and CEO, USGBC said,” Amidst the challenges of 2021, governments, companies and other organizations committed to taking bold actions to protect the climate, their employees and their communities. Transitioning our buildings to be healthier and more sustainable is essential to meeting these commitments, and we’re proud to recognize states where that work is well under way.”

The full rankings are as follows based on certified gross square footage per capita:

1. Illinois
2. Washington
3. Massachusetts
4. Colorado
5. Virginia
6. California
7. Maryland
8. Oregon
9. Utah
10. Nevada

Despite Washington, D.C., not appearing in the official top ten list because of its status as a federal territory, it consistently leads the nation in LEED-certified square footage per capita. In 2021, the nation’s capital certified 29.46 square feet of space per resident across one hundred and three green building projects.

“Green building is projected to continue its rapid growth in 2022, and USGBC remains focused on supporting further market transformation and innovation,” Templeton added. “It is particularly encouraging to see policy leadership at all levels of government promoting green building practice and performance—from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to local code enhancements. USGBC will continue to support efforts in all sectors to accelerate progress and increase accountability for creating sustainable, healthy, resilient and equitable buildings and communities.”

Did your building products get specified in the ten states listed? These states and Washington, D.C. are driving the number of LEED certified projects. If you aren’t getting specified in the listed states, are you missing critical specification tools to help increase your chances? Here are suggestions to increase your LEED opportunities.

LEED Documentation

One of the most important tools a building product manufacturer has at their disposal to be considered for LEED v4.1 specification is LEED documentation. There are multiple certifications, declarations, and testing data that are used in LEED v4 that have been updated for the next LEED ratings system. LEED Documentation ensures you have the tools to get specified on LEED projects. LEED data sheets and LEED product data help specifiers in product selection. Building product manufacturers need to have documentation on how their products contribute to LEED credits.

Building product manufacturers can help contribute several points to LEED depending on their products. LEED sets many performance-based requirements. LEED professionals identify products that have the desired attributes. Some LEED points will mandate that certain limits or minimums be met. Other LEED points will necessitate gathering specific product data into a spreadsheet in order to calculate the aggregate environmental or health value of a set of products. LEED documentation should list all your products contributions and should be available on your website, material databases, and integrated into your CE courses.

Health Product Declarations (HPDs)

HPDs are the primary product disclosure to meet LEED v4.1 BD+C MR: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Material Ingredients. HPDs are budget-friendly, less complicated and time consuming for product manufacturers to develop than alternative compliance options for the credit. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer for building product manufacturers to develop an HPD. Health Product Declarations (HPDs) provide a standardized way of reporting the material contents of building products and the health effects associated with these materials. HPDs should be published on the HPDC website, your company website, uploaded to material databases and integrated into your CE courses.

Additional ways to increase product specification would be to develop LEED compliant EPDs, provide VOC emissions testing, verified recycled content data, and develop an EPR. If you wish to participate in the hundreds of LEED projects that are built annually across the nation, these are first steps to take. How does your company increase its LEED specification opportunities?