LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This concept was developed by United States Green Building Council or USGBC. USGBC started its journey in 1993 as a voluntary organization to promote the green building concept in the United States of America and worldwide. Their main goal was to establish triple bottom lines such as People (social capital), Planet (natural capital), and Profit (economic capital).

A green building or LEED Certified project is that which uses sustainable materials or green building materials in their building. It includes materials that are harvested in a sustainable manner such as certified wood, materials with higher recycle content, materials that have regional content and materials those have less VOC, etc. Building materials are important since it has both impacts during harvesting and using. Harvesting should be sustainable and when to use then it should consider the life cycle and any negative impact on human health. 

To run this program need credential in Green Building. There are various levels or Credentials are required. It starts from LEED GA or LEED Green Associate, LEED AP, and LEED Fellow. 

The first or beginning level of credential is LEED Green Associate or LEED GA. It means they earn basics knowledge of Green Building principles and practices or LEED Certification process (Certification level, points need for each certification stage, Pre requisitions, credits, and their weights, etc.). 

The LEED AP (Accredited Professional) credential signifies an advanced depth of knowledge in green building practices; it also reflects the ability to specialize in a particular LEED Rating System. LEED AP is an advanced stage that demonstrates a higher level of knowledge such as calculation for each credit (intents and requirements for each credit) and documentation process etc. LEED AP has especially such as LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, LEED AP EB O+M, LEED AP Homes, LEED AP ND. All this is administrated by GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute). LEED Fellows are nominated by their peers, undergo an extensive portfolio review, must have at least 10 years of experience in the green building industry, and hold a LEED AP with specialty credentials, among other requirements.

There are many LEED Platinum-rated certified buildings in Bangladesh. On building need to achieve a minimum of 80 points out of 110 benchmarks to qualify as LEED Platinum rated certification. It means they have demonstrated in all credit categories such as Location and Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Material and Resources, inside environmental quality. Rather than this, there is Gold rated, Silver-rated, and just certified building.  

Out of all Platinum-rated buildings in Bangladesh, some buildings did very well. Such as Plummy fashion, Remi holdings (they have scored 97 points out of 110 points benchmark which is the highest in Bangladesh), Vintage Denim studio, and recently awarded Karupannya Rangpur Limited (they received 84 out of 100 benchmarks). LEAD Consulting Limited was the consultant of this project. They do green building design and consultancy. They also provide education for LEED Green Associate Exam and LEED AP exam preparation for the individuals who wish to earn these credentials. LEAD Consulting has more than 25 project experiences till today that includes Patriot Eco Apparels, Alpha Clothing, Comfit composite, and many more. 

Bangladesh Garments Manufacture and Exporter Association, BGMEA members are the leader in implementing green building technology in Bangladesh. Out of all LEED Certified projects, most of them owned by BGMEA member’s factories. Most of the factory faces the challenge to provide fresh air to their all occupied spaces. In lack of fresh air there increase in CO2, dust, and other microelements such Nox, Sox, PM10 and PM2.5, etc. This is very harmful to human health. Also, lack of fresh air may increase humidity and temperature for both mechanical and naturally ventilated areas. 

The Green building principle is to reduce global carbon emission, reduce energy consumption by the built environment, and reduce the use of water both indoor and outdoor. Ensure air quality or fresh air to all occupied spaces of the building. This building uses materials that create less wastage and increase the life cycle. Also, their maintenance cost is lower than conventional buildings. We are hoping Bangladesh would lead green building technology in the future.