Coverage
Score one point if you reuse scraps from your construction project.
Add another point if your materials come from within 500 miles of your building site.
And if you power your structure with on-site renewable energy, well, you've banked four more points.
It's not a game. It's the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED-the nation's most popular scorecard for environmentally sustainable construction of everything from new office towers to schools and courthouses.
More projects than ever before are vying for the privilege of crowning themselves, from lowest to highest, LEED "Certified, "Silver," "Gold," or "Platinum"-depending on how many points they have racked up in dozens of environmental categories and subcategories. Benefits of the designation include tax breaks, lower long-term energy costs and better marketing opportunities.